The Return of Evil
by YuugisGirl
Summary: It's been a year since Atem left this world. But there is a new evil on the rise and an unknown destiny about to be revealed. Ancient and present forces will clash in an all out war to determine the fate of the earth! DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1: Remembrance

A/N: This is my first ever fan fiction for Yugioh so please be truthful when reviewing it. It doesn't have any Yaoi in it so sorry to those of you who like that kind of stuff. Don't worry though I'm already working on a story with some Yaoi for you guys (and by guys I mean people). Hopefully I'll have it out soon. But enough about that… onto the story!!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh. All I have are my own original ideas and characters. But if I did own Yugioh I'd be much richer by now!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 1: Remembrance

Moonlight streamed in through the open window, illuminating the small writing desk propped against the wall beneath it.

A boy sat across from the moonlit desk, his large amethyst eyes fixed on something resting on its surface. The boy was small, with black hair that shot up into spikes, the edges trimmed with red violet and golden blonde bangs that fell down to his chin, framing the boy's pale face. He watched as the alarm clock poised on the desk's surface beeped twice, quietly, as the little red numbers on its face flashed twelve o'clock. "Well…" Yugi Motto said, leaning back against his bed covers "Happy Anniversary Pharoh…." He laughed out loud at the bizarre wording while fighting to hold back the tears that were burning in his eyes.

Today marked the day of the greatest change in Yugi's young life. It was the anniversary of the day he had completed the Millennium Puzzle. And it was a day that would change his life forever. On this same day almost four years ago, Yugi had completed the ancient Egyptian artifact and freed a 3000 year old spirit that lived inside it. That day he had met the greatest friend of his life and his destiny had begun to unfold. That day he had met the other half of his soul. And that day he had embarked on the greatest adventure of his life. But now that adventure, that wonderful friend, it was all gone…

Yugi sobbed into his pillow as the memory of that fated day came back to him. "It's all my fault!' Yugi cried. "If I hadn't dueled him then maybe he'd still be here…" Yugi moaned as pain and grief racked his entire body.

It had been almost a year, now, since the Pharoh's spirit had been set free. Almost a year since Yugi had lost his best and closest friend. Almost a year since his soul had been ripped in half, tattered and broken forever. Almost a year since the worst day of Yugi's life.

"It's all my fault!" Yugi sobbed once more into his pillow. Because of him half of his identity was gone. His braver, stronger, more confident half was lost forever and he could feel himself slipping back into the shy, meek, and timid person he had been before. Yugi's friends had started to notice. He could feel them slowly slipping away as the Yugi they knew began to disappear. Well… he had gotten their friendship because of a wish he had made on the Millennium Puzzle and now that it was gone it only made since that he would loose them too.

"Pharoh…" Yugi whispered as tears slid down his face. "I never wanted to send you away. Please. Please Pharoh. Please come back!" But no one was there to hear him.

"

* * *

I don't know about this, guys." Tea said as she, Tristan, and Joey stood outside the school doors. It was break and most people spent their free time out doors on days like this. "Tea, we have to try." Tristan said "Yugi hasn't been the same since the Pharoh left and I hate to see him down like this. He's been depressed for almost a year now! We have to try and bring the old Yugi back or I think we might loose him forever. Besides Yugi would do the same for us. We have to try. Right Joey?" Tristan said. "Wha- OWWWW!" Joey said as Tristan elbowed him hard in the ribs. "What was that for?!" The blonde asked angrily, throwing a punch at his pointy haired friend, who dodged the blow easily. "Tea and I were trying to have an important conversation about Yugi while you were munching on a corn dog!" Tristan yelled angrily. "I was listening!...Somewhat" Joey said meekly, lifting his half eaten corn dog from the ground and examining it closely before popping it into his mouth. "EWWWW! JOEY! That was on the ground!" Tea cried as Joey licked the tips of his fingers. "Ten second rule!" Joey said "Besides… I wouldn't have to eat it off the ground if SOMEONE didn't knock it out of my hand!" Joey said glaring angrily over at Tristan. "Well I wouldn't have to knock it out of your hand if you had been paying attention!" Tristan yelled back. "Oh yeah! Well…"

"Boys." Tea muttered to herself as the two began bickering. She turned away from the squabbling boys beside her and looked around the field. "Hey guys. Guys! GUYS!" she yelled making Tristan and Joey jump. "What is it?" they asked. "Look there he is." "Who- OWWWWW!" Joey cried as Tristan elbowed him in the stomach. "Yugi you nimrod!" Tristan cried exasperatedly "Your gonna bruise one of my ribs!" Joey screamed rubbing his now throbbing side. Ignoring his whining friend Tristan turned to Tea "Well… here's your shot." "I don't know…" Tea said nervously, biting her lip. "Look Tea, you want Yugi back right?" Tristan said, looking her dead in the eye. "Yes but…" "Then you have to do this." "I know but what if all we end up doing is pushing him farther away?!" Tea cried "That's a risk we're gonna have to take." Tristan said seriously.

"Alright." Tea whispered. "I'll do it." "Don't worry Tea." Joey said reassuringly "If there's one thing I know about Yug it's that he loves Duel Monsters. There's no way this plan will fail." "Thanks guys." Tea said. "Alright… here I go." she whispered stepping away from her friends.

* * *

Yugi sat beneath the shade of a large oak tree on the edge of the field, rigging a leaf between his fingers. He rolled the little green leaf, letting his mind wonder in and out of thought. Try as he might, however, he always seemed to come back to the same question. Why had he dueled him?! He clenched his teeth and his hands began to shake at the thought. "I shouldn't have done it. It's all my fault ..." Yugi whispered to himself as his whole entire body began to quiver. "Why?!" he finally shouted, tearing the leaf apart in his rage.

He looked down at the two tattered leaf halves in each hand. Why did he have to destroy everything?! Throwing the leaf halves aside, Yugi pulled his legs up to his chest and sobbed into his knees. "Why?" he whispered over and over again, his tears soaking his jeans.

"Yugi?" he heard a familiar voice ask from behind his tree. "Yeah Tea?" he said, quickly whipping the tears from his face with the sleeve of his jacket.

Tea circled around the tree and stood, looking down at him, concern radiating from her gaze. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes moving from his red and puffy eyes, to his wet knees and sleeves and back again. "Yeah I'm fine." Yugi said, attempting a small smile that looked more like a grimace. "What do you want?"

Tea moved closer to him and said anxiously "I was wondering if you were doing anything for spring break." "No." Yugi replied, turning away from her as his composure began to crumble and tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. "Gramps is going to visit Professor Hawkins so I'm going to stay and man the shop. Why do you ask?" he said, trying to keep his voice as light and airy as possible, while the tears began to slide down his cheeks. "Well…" Tea said nervously "Kiaba is hosting this new Duel Monsters tournament on his new private island." Tea said in a rush, her mouth not entirely keeping up with the words. "It starts during spring break and the guys and I were wondering if…"

"No." Yugi said, cutting her short. At the mention of Duel Monsters, Yugi had felt as if somebody had stabbed a knife into his heart. "But… why?" Tea said, looking shocked and hurt. "Cause." Yugi said, standing up. Why did she have to bring this up today of all days?! He hadn't so much as looked at a Duel Monsters card since the Pharoh had left. The thought of the Pharoh seemed to twist the knife that had already pierced his heart. "But… we just thought that…" "No!" Yugi cried, anger and grief vibrating in his voice. "I have to go, the bell rang." Yugi spat, throwing his bag over his shoulder and storming off letting his anger hold back the tears that were beginning to breach their barriers again.

"Yugi wait!" Tea cried after him, but he didn't turn, he just kept his head down as he marched back up towards the school.

* * *

"Yugi are you awake?!" Solomon Motto called up the stairs to his grandson. "Yeah Grandpa!" Yugi called back, trying to keep his voice steady as he wiped his eyes. "Are you alright?!'" Mr. Motto yelled. He must not have done a very good job of covering it up. "I'm fine, really." Yugi said, trying to make his voice sound as light and carefree as possible. "Alright then." His grandfather called, sounding completely unconvinced. "Finish your homework and you can go to sleep." "Okay! Night Grandpa!" "Good night Yugi!" his grandfather called back.

Yugi rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. In truth he had just spent the past few hours crying but his grandpa didn't need to know that. He sighed, letting another tear fall down his cheek. Why did he have to be so weak?! The Pharoh never cried! "In fact, if the Pharoh where here right now he'd be telling me to get a grip on myself and enter that tournament." Yugi thought to himself "But that's just it… the Pharohs not here… I'm all alone…" "AHHHHHHHHH!" Yugi cried punching the wall next to his bed. The shelf above him shook and its contents fell, landing on top of his head. "Ouch!" Yugi cried, rubbing his bruised scalp. "Is everything alright up there!" Yugi heard his grandfather call. "Peachy King!" he called back, while muttering curses under his breath. Pushing the artifacts off of him, Yugi rolled off the bed and began collecting the fallen items. "Perfect." he said through clenched teeth. "Just perfect. That's exactly what I need right now, a concussion!" He reached for a black velvet bag that had fallen from the shelf, and, in his anger, lifted the wrong end. As he pulled the bag came away revealing a small golden box.

Yugi lifted the box to eye level, examining the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs that covered its surface. Turning it over he recognized the familiar symbol on its front. It was an eye. The same eye that had been carved onto his Millennium Puzzle. Realization of the box was suddenly dawned on him. "Of course!" he said, smacking himself on the forehead. It was the box that had held the pieces of the Millennium puzzle! "Ironic that I should find it again today." Yugi thought, brushing the dust off its surface. As his fingers slid across the eye on its front the box suddenly began to glow. "What's going on?" Yugi cried as a blinding flash of light illuminated the entire room. And then Yugi was gone.

* * *

A/N: I know what you are all thinking...Stupid cliffy! I know but if I didn't leave a cliff hanger then what would want to make you read more! Well I hope you liked it! Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2: A Terrible Truth

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to The Danvers Girl, my first reviewer! Thanks for the spelling tip Sammi, I'm trying to fix it in the pervious chapter but my stupid computer keeps messing it up! sigh Oh well! On to chapter two! Hope all of you like!

Disclaimer: No! I do not own Yugioh! If I did then why would I be writing crumbing fan fiction when I could just make it into anime?

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter Two: Destiny Revealed

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Yugioh cried as he fell through black oblivion. His screams echoed off into the distance as he fell through the never ending nothingness that stretched out all around him. "Help me! AHHHHHHHHH!" he screeched as he continued to tumble into the darkness.

Then, suddenly, his descent began to slow. "What the…" Yugi cried as the sensation falling suddenly disappeared. His feet touched down softly on a hard surface, but, looking around, Yugi could see nothing but black abyss. "Hello?" he called out to the shadows. "Is anybody there?"

A sudden movement to his right caused Yugi to jump and spin around to face the source of the noise. "Who's there?" he called out, voice shaking. "Show yourself!"

He nearly fell over as he heard another sound from his left. Who, or whatever was out there seemed to be getting closer. "Okay. I am officially freaked out." Yugi muttered to himself as he gazed around him in confusion.

"Yugi Motto." a voice said from directly behind him. Yugi whipped around and fell over in fright. The figure that had spoken stood barely a foot away from him. It was wearing a long white robe that brushed the ground at its feet and a hood that shrouded its face in shadow.

"Wh- Who are you?" Yugi said, pushing himself up off the ground and backing away from the mysterious person. "How do you know my name? What do you want from me?"

Ignoring his first two questions the hooded figure spoke "I seek nothing from you but your help… you see, my young prince, there is a situation that could endanger the entire planet, and it is your destiny to stop it."

Prince? Destiny? Destroy the world? All this was tossing around in Yugi's head as he tried to grasp what the stranger was saying. "What do you mean?!" he finally blurted out, staring up at the figure.

"A new evil has arisen and an old power is about to reawaken. The danger that all thought was sealed away forever has broken free and will wreak havoc and destruction upon the earth once more. If the evil forces of the past and the present combine then the world will be in great peril! I have foreseen it."

"Do you mean to say that the evil the Pharaoh…" Yugi's voice trembled slightly "…locked away has been set free again? But that's impossible! When the seven Millennium Items were sealed away the spirits that were bound to them were also sealed."

"My prince…" the figure said, shaking it's head sadly. "Again with the prince thing?" Yugi thought. "I fear that that is not true. When the Millennium Items were sealed away one was missing. Without all the items locked away the spirits trapped within them could escape." the stranger said.

"But all the items were sealed away! I was there! I saw them!" Yugi cried, glaring at the figure.

"Alas… that is not the case for when the items were sealed away the eighth and final item was missing… the Millennium Gem."

"What are you talking about?!" Yugi cried exasperatedly. "There's no such thing as the Millennium Gem! There are only seven Millennium Items, the ring, the rod, the necklace, the eye, the scales, the key, and the puzzle!" Yugi said his voice cracking on the last one.

"That was what we all thought for the longest time, until the ancient spirit escaped from his prison." The stranger said

"Now that the two forces of evil are loose it is your destiny to find the Millennium Gem and protect it from their clutches. If its power were to fall into their greedy hands then unthinkable forces of darkness could be released from their slumbers as well."

"Okay…" Yugi said, rubbing his temples. "And why should I believe you?!"

"Because, Yugi Motto…" the figure said, its fingers reaching up towards its hood…

A/N: I feel that this chapter feel extremely flat but there you have it. I also think it could have been longer sigh Don't worry thought the next chapter is going to be much longer. I promise. Thank you to anyone who reviewed my story. I hope you liked it. Please R&R.


	3. Chapter 3:Destiny Revealed

A/N: Hey everyone! I finally managed to get another chapter up! This one's dedicated to all my reviewers, kikyo's killer123, Larka Mooncrest, XLight ForeverX, and The Danvers Girls, you guys are great! Thanks for reviewing! Now enough chatter, let's get this chapter started!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, only my OC'S. My attempts to seize control of the shows copyrights were foiled by a combination of the CIA, the Japanese police, and evil flying monkeys.

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 3: Destiny Revealed

"…you know me." The figure said, letting its hood fall back. Long black hair framed the woman's tanned face. Her piercing blue eyes bore into Yugi's amethyst ones with all knowing wisdom.

"Ishisu?!" Yugi cried, gazing up at the woman with joy, excitement, shock and confusion. "What are you doing here?!" Why aren't you in Egypt?!" What's all this talk about a Millennium gem? And why are you wearing the Millennium Necklace?!" Yugi shouted, noticing the circlet of gold around Ishisu's neck the familiar eye etched into its center.

""So many questions my dear prince." Ishisu said gazing warmly down at him. "You're just like I remember."

"That's another thing." Yugi said, looking at Ishisu in confusion. "Why do you keep calling me prince?"

Ishisu sighed and looked at Yugi's conflicted face. "All that you have asked is exactly what I'm here to tell you. You see Yugi, after the Millennium items were sealed away the Pharaoh's tomb collapsed."

"I know." Yugi said, half annoyed half amused. "I was there, remember?"

"Yes young prince, I know you were there when the tomb collapsed. How could I forget?" she said kindly. "I was merely recapping the events. Now, after the tomb collapsed and you and your friends left for America (A/N: In this story I'm having them live in America instead of Japan, just FYI) my brother Marik and I were searching through the rubble, making sure that the secrets of the tomb were completely destroyed. As we searched we came across a small cave entrance that had been uncovered by the tomb's collapse"

Ishisu paused to take a breath and continued.

"Curious, my brother and I took some supplies and decided to explore the cavern. What we found was incredible." Ishisu said, her voice trailing away as she reminisced

"_Marik!" Ishisu called angrily after her brother as he rushed down the ancient tunnel. The walls that surrounded her were old but clearly man made. The stone was chiseled to perfection, Egyptian hieroglyphs and symbols etched with unerring skill into its walls. "Slow down Marik! I'm trying to read what's written on the walls! She cried angrily at her disobedient brother. It was great that he wasn't a power crazy psychopath like before, but sometimes he could be just a bit too childish… "Alright MOM! _

_I'm coming!" he called back at her sarcastically. Sighing, Ishisu turned to the nearest wall and began to read what was written on its surface. "As pure of heart meets black of soul, two worlds form one whole. The light and dark, the night and day, will vanquish all evil in their way." 'Odd..' Ishisu thought as she read the hieroglyphs threw a second time. 'That sounds just like…' "I'm here, what do you need your highness." Marik sneered, bowing to his sister in a mocking fashion. "Marik, read this." Ishisu said, ignoring his jibe and thrusting his face towards the wall. "Yeah I know." He said, turning to face her. "It says that on every wall down this hallway. The same message." She looked at him thoughtfully. "Come on she said, grabbing his arm."We're going to check this out." And with that she began towing Marik down the tunnel._

_They continued down the long passageway, the same message glaring at them from all sides. Did it mean what she thought it did? Suddenly they saw a light up ahead. Pulling fiercely on Marik's arm, Ishisu rushed up the path to the glow in the distance._

_They reached the end of the tunnel and stepped into a large, circular chamber. The room was dimly lit by the glow of the torches she and Marik were holding , but it still made her gasp, even in the poor light._

_The room was made almost entirely out of solid gold! The walls, ceilings and floors, the chairs that stood around the curves of the room, and even the tablet that sat in its center were completely incased in the shimmering substance. Ishisu heard Marik gasp in awe at the marvelous sight and she couldn't blame him, the room was amazing!_

_Shaking her head slightly to clear the numb feeling that had swept through her, Ishisu dropped Marik's hand and strode towards the tablet in the center of the room. It was about as large as the one she had shown the Pharaoh in the museum so long ago… Her eye glazed over the surface of the tablet, taking in the hieroglyphs around its outer edge. As she moved her eyes towards its center she cried out in astonishment. "What is it?" Marik asked, rushing over to her side, concern emanating in his voice _

"_Look at the picture!" Ishisu gasped pointing at the image in the center of the tablet. "By Ra!" Marik cried as he peered at the image carved in the stone._

_The image depicted two figures standing in a open field. Both of them looked extremely similar, the same spiky tricolored hair, about the same height, their faces almost identical. Except there was one crucial difference in the appearance of the two figures, the larger one on the left was surrounded by dark, shadowy clouds that circled around him in a deadly, black fog. _

_The smaller figure on the right, on the other hand, was engulfed in shiny white light that made him glow bright as a star. _

_The hieroglyphs beneath the shadowy figure read "The King of Shadows."_

_The caption beneath the pure figure read "The Prince of Light."_

_Between the two figures where there two forces of light and dark met there was an upside down pyramid with an eye carved into its center…._

"The Millennium Puzzle!" Yugi cried. Ishisu nodded and continued her story.

_The words along the outer edge of the tablet were the same as those in the hallway 'As pure of heart meets black of soul, two worlds will become one whole. The light and dark, the night and day, will vanquish all evil in their way.' But this time there was more to the encryption_

'_Together strong and fierce of heart, but should these forces drift apart . New evils rise to take their place, and new power starts the race.' 'Weak of spirit, weak of mind. Lest these forces fall behind. They fade and then we all fall, mankind will lose it all.' _

"_What does it mean?" Marik asked, curious and utterly confused._

"_I…I don't know…" Ishisu murmured._

"A few months passed and my brother and I stayed far away from the cave." Ishisu said watching as Yugi drank in the information she had given him. "Then one night…"

_Ishisu lay restless in her silken bed, her eyes fixed on the canopy above her, her thoughts straying back to the message on the tablet. 'What had it meant?!' _

_Ishisu rolled over and sighed as the lines of the poem rang through her ears. The powers of light and darkness… that had to mean one of the yamis and one of the hikaris. It couldn't be Marik.. .no his yami had been sent to the shadow realm long ago. Maybe Ryou… but Bakura had been sealed away with the Millennium Items. What if Yugi… but that was impossible! The Pharaoh's soul had been put to rest for eternity!_

_Ishisu rolled over and buried her face in her pillow, confused and frustrated by the dilemma._

_Suddenly she heard a rustling noise to her right, like the sound of cloth against the floor._

_Sitting bolt upright, she whirled around. "Who's there?!" she yelled into the darkness of her room._

"_Relax ,dear one ,it is only me." A male voice said from behind her._

_Ishisu turned around wildly and screeched "Shadi!"_

_The white robed spirit nodded and smiled slightly at her shocked expression._

"_Shadi! What are you doing here?!" Ishisu hissed, sliding out of bed so she could stand face to face with the spirit. "I thought you…passed on when the Millennium Items were sealed away!_

"_Ishisu." Shadi said seriously, holding up his hand to silence her."I have little time and much to tell you. Now, I know that you and Marik stumbled upon an ancient chamber."_

"_Shhhh…" Shadi said, holding up a finger as Ishisu opened her mouth to speak."I am here to inform you of what the contents of that tablet you read mean."_

"_It spoke of a new evil and a new power. Well… that is only partly true. The evil is old and new and the great power these evils seek is very ancient."_

"_What do you-" Ishisu started, but was cut off by another look from Shadi._

"_The power these two evil seek is known as the Millennium Gem." Shadi told Ishisu in a whisper. "It is a hidden item made by Bakura 3000 years ago in ancient Egypt. It holds incredible power over space and time and it is vital that it is found and protected!"_

"_But why… and how did Bakura make such an item? Surely we cariers of the Millennium Items, would have sensed the creation of another item?" Ishisu asked worryingly _

"_Bakura was not a stupid man. He knew there was a possibility that his takeover plan would fail. He made this item as a backup in case we ever tried to seal his soul away forever. He knew that without all the Items sealed he could escape, and I'm afraid he already has."Shadi sighed_

_Ishisu gasped and exclaimed "Well what can we do?! There has to be some way to stop him!"_

"_I'm afraid the situations far worse than you think. You see the tablet spoke of two evils and Bakura is only one of those. There is still an unknown enemy out there that is after the Gem." Shadi said solemnly_

_Ishisu fell back on her bed, her head spinning with the information that had just been given to her. "It's hopeless." She sobbed, tears sliding down her face. "There's nothing we can do…"_

"_Do not give up yet, Ishisu, not while there is still hope." He leaned down and placed the Millennium Necklace in her open hand. _

"_Where did you.." Ishisu asked, looking up to see Shadi disappearing into a portal._

"_Give this to its proper owner." He said tossing something gold over his shoulder towards her. "The Prince will need it." And with that Shadi disappeared._

_Ishisu looked down at the item in her hand and was surprised to see…_

"This belongs to you." Ishisu said, reaching into her robes and pulling out… THE MILLENNIUM PUZZLE?!

Yugi gasped in surprise as Ishisu handed him the familiar golden upside down pyramid, a golden eye etched on it'sfront.

"It is yours, oh Prince of Light." Ishisu said, kneeling down at Yugi feet.

Yugi stared down at the Puzzle, a million emotions flying through him at the same time.

"No." he whispered so quietly that Ishisu could only faintly hear him.

"What, dear prince?" Ishisu asked confusedly

"No!'' Yugi shouted this time, almost throwing the puzzle on the ground.

"What?!" Ishisu asked now in totally confusion as Yugi continued to shake in anger.

"No Ishisu don't you get it?! I'm not some kind of Prince that can control the powers of Light! Heck I can't even control my fists when it counts!" He shouted as anger continued to pulse through is veins. "I am a weak, helpless, tiny little kid who only got caught up in this mess because I served as a vessel to someone greater! It's him you want, not me! Without him…" Yugi's voice faultered as pain and grief took hold of him. "Without him I'm…nothing" he sobbed, falling to the ground on hands and knees, trembling from the pain he now felt. Pain that consumed his entire being in an agony that not even death could placate.

Ishisu walked over to the trembling teen and placed a hand on his should. "Yugi…" she whispered. "You are not weak. You are in fact the strongest person I know, the Pharaoh would not have been able to save this planet without you. He fed off your strength just as you did his and together you over came any obstacle in your way." She said, smiling down at him. "And now we need that strength again. The tablet not only spoke of the Prince of Light, but also his partner the King of Shadows. In order to defeat this new threat, retrieve the Millennium Gem and save the world, we must bring back your other half. We must resurrect the Pharaoh!"

"Atem." Yugi whispered.

A/N: Well that's chapter three (man that was long!) And I left a little cliffy in there just for all of you!snickers Sorry about the crappy poem I used for the tablet's prophecy but I couldn't think of any other way to do it. Anyway, hope you liked it! Please R&R!


	4. Chapter 4: An All Consuming Light

A/N: Another chapter

A/N: Another chapter! This one is again dedicated to all my reviewers. You guys are the best! Sorry it took a little while for me to update but what can I say… I was on vacation. Plus the idea of people squirming in their seats waiting for me to post a new chapter was too sweet to relinquish so soon. Anyway hope you like this one.

Disclaimer: NO! For the love of Ra I do NOT own Yugioh! Quit making me feel bad!

Now enjoy your story! Enjoy it you ruffian or face my wrath…

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 4: An All Consuming Light

"We're going to bring back Atem?!" Yugi asked, hope and skepticism radiating in his voice. "How?"

"Leave that to me and the power of the Millennium Puzzle." Ishisu said kindly leaning down and lifting the Item off the floor where Yugi had dropped it in his rage. "Of course I can only bring him back if you believe in yourself. No matter how powerful I am I can not resurrect him without your strength. It's all up to you now Yugi. You can accept your destiny, bring back the Pharaoh and save the world from destruction, or you can sit alone in your room until the very shadows you were destined to destroy find and destroy you instead. It's all up to you my Prince." She said, extending the hand that held the Millennium Puzzle out to Yugi.

Yugi looked up at Ishisu then let his gaze fall down to the Puzzle. Part of him, the part that had remained timid and weak, wanted to shatter the Puzzle into a million pieces and curl up in a ball. The other part of him, the part most affected by the Pharaoh's presence, wanted to jump for joy at the prospect of a new journey and of seeing Atem again. After all the things that puzzle had done to him, he wasn't sure which side of his heart to listen to. That Puzzle had endangered his life and the lives of his friends several times over and the race for its power had started a war that threatened to destroy the world. But it had also connected him to Atem… half of his soul… his darkness… his world… Seeing Atem again was worth facing any new danger destiny had conjured up for him.

Yugi stared up at Ishisu, fire blazing in his amethysts eyes as he came to his conclusion. Gasping the chain that dangled down from Ishisu's hand, Yugi lifted the Puzzle over his head and let it settle down around his neck. "I'll do it." He whispered.

Ishisu smiled and then raised her hand above her head.

Yugi looked around in terror as the darkness around them began to evaporate. "Ishisu! What's going on?!" Yugi cried.

"Don't worry, I'm sending your mind back to your body." Ishisu smiled as more of the darkness was pealed away.

Yugi watched, slightly panicked as Ishisu herself bean to disappear before him. "Where are you going?!" he screamed as her form shivered and became transparent.

"Home." She said. "Do not fret dear one. I will be back in two day's time to take you to the Pharaoh. Until then my prince…" her voice trailed away as the blackness around completely vanished.

Yugi lifted his head. He was kneeling in front of his bed, the golden box still clutched in his hands, and his entire upper body spread out over the sheets.

'Was it all just a dream?' Yugi wondered. He stood and heard a familiar clinking of metal from around his neck. Yugi looked down to see the Millennium Puzzle glinting on his chest. Fresh tears sprang into his eyes, but these were not of sadness. They were of joy. Gasping the puzzle, Yugi looked out the window, the stars reflecting in his large amethyst eyes. "Atem…" he whispered "You're coming home."

* * *

"…and so she'll be here tomorrow." Yugi finished looking around in satisfaction.

"Wow Yuge! You get to see the Pharaoh- I mean Atem again! This is gonna be sweet!" Joey said, practically flying as Yugi finished describing what had happened. The group sat in the kitchen part of the game shop/house complex. When Yugi had showed up at school that day wearing the Millennium Puzzle and the world biggest smile on his face his friends had demanded answers. After hearing his story the three of them were in awe of what there little friend had experienced and what was going to happen next.

"I'm a little concerned about this prophecy and the whole new evil, end of the world deal." Tristan said thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. "How come every thing we do seems to revolve around those to things?!"

"I think you mean everything YUGI does." Tea said, looking down at the spiky haired teen. "We get to come with you when Ishisu takes you to resurrect Atem right?"

"Of course!" Yugi said brightly "You guys were his friends too. I'm sure he'll be just as happy to see you!"

"The tea train has arrived!" a voice said from behind the kitchen door.

"Grandpa!" Yugi said happily, running over to the door and opening it with a little too much enthusiasm.

The startled old man nearly fell over backwards as his grandson dashed out in front of him. "Sorry Grandpa." Yugi said apologetically, taking the tray from his grandfather's hands and placing it safely on the table.

"It's fine my boy." Mr. Muto said (A/N: Thanks for the tip Mirai-Vegetto) looking up at the boy's joyous face. It was nice to finally see that smile he had been missing for so long…

"Well I'll leave you kids to your fun." He smiled, exiting the room with one last glance at Yugi's face.

Yugi settled back down at the table and sipped his tea, listening to some argument Tristan and Joey wear having about whether or not the Pharaoh would come back as a zombie or a ghost. He smiled to himself. He had his old friends back and tomorrow he was going to reunite with the Pharaoh. Things were just looking up.

"Oh give it a rest you two!" Tea cried, throwing a magazine that had been lying on the table at the squabbling boys.

Yugi's laugh quickly turned into a rasping cough as his throat seemed to constrict.

"Are you alright?" Tea asked looking at Yugi with concern.

"Fine." He rasped back, rubbing his aching throat. "Just need to drink some water, that's all." Yugi said, taking his empty cup over to the sink and filling it to the brim with the clear liquid.

As he returned to the table Tea scrutinized his face. "Are you sure you're alright Yugi? Your face is flushed and your eyes are a little red."

"I probably just need to get more sleep." Yugi said, brushing away the comment with a wave of his hand.

Tea narrowed her eyes and put her hand to Yugi's forehead. "Oh my gosh Yugi you're burning up!" Tea cried, pulling her hand back as it met Yugi's scorching skin.

"It's nothing Tea! Really. I'm fine!" Yugi insisted as Tea rushed over to the medicine cabinet to fetch him some Aspirin (A/N: don't own).

"Well… take these just in case." She said, placing two white tablets in Yugi's hand. Sighing at Tea's babying of him, Yugi put the pills in his mouth and forced them down with a gulp of water. "Happy?" he asked when he had finished.

"For now." She said, looking down at him with concern.

Rolling his eyes Yugi looked up at the clock on the kitchen counter. "You guys should be heading home now. It's late and we all need to be packed and ready for tomorrow.

He watched as Tristan and Joey left, still fighting over Atem's resurrected form, and he had to practically push Tea out the door as she kept telling him things like "Now get some sleep tonight. Drink lots of fluids. Take some more Aspirin in the morning…"

Finally he was alone in the little room. Slumping down into one of the chairs, Yugi sighed contentedly. "Tomorrow's going to be a great day!" he said to himself, a smile spreading across his face.

* * *

"Come on guys she's hear!" Yugi screamed, grabbing his bag and running through the front door as a black limousine pulled up in front of the game shop.

A familiar white robed woman stepped out of the car and smiled warmly down at him. "Hello little prince." Ishisu said with a smile.

Yugi smiled back. His joy making him sway on the spot.

"Come on now, dear one the jet leaves in an hour." She said helping the other's load their luggage into the trunk.

"We're going in a jet!" Joey cried, looking almost as excited as Yugi. "Finally a vehicle worthy of my superiority!" He exclaimed, earning him a good smack on the head from Tristan.

"Why I outta-" he said, turning angrily to face the pointy haired boy. He was interrupted, however, by Tea pulling him by the ear into the limousine. "Don't be such a moron!" Yugi heard her say to him as they slipped out of sight.

Yugi followed them and soon they were all speeding off to the airport.

"So… where are we going?" Joey asked, and Tea gave and exasperated sigh.

Ishisu, however, smiled and said. "We are going into the cave my brother and I found near the Pharaoh's destroyed tomb. There is a chamber inside from which we can perform the ritual to bring him back.

"And what does this ritual evolve pray tell." Tristan asked from the other side of the car.

"Oh you will see." Ishisu said, her eyes sparkling as the limousine sped along the highway.

Yugi remained silent the entire trip, his head resting against the glass of the window, too exhausted and caught up in thought to even register when they had actually reached the airport.

The other's looked up in awe at the huge white jet before them. It was large enough that even Kiaba would have envied it. "Wow!" the all gasped in unison. "What's even better is that we have it all to ourselves." Ishisu said with a slightly smug smile. A flight of stairs descended from the aircraft and a few men stepped out, took their luggage and began to load it onto the jet.

'Careful now. That's Joey's entire wardrobe. If you loose it he'll have to wear some of Tea's stuff. Come to think of it, why don't you just chuck that thing off the plane during mid- flight." Tristan chuckled as Joey threw a punch at him, which he dodged.

The group headed over to the stairs and began to ascend into the plane. Yugi stumbled along after them, his limbs shaking and his heart rate quickening. 'What was happening to him?' His vision was beginning to blur and his knees began shaking violently. His head felt like it was being split open and he could hear his blood pounding through his ears.

Yugi staggered to the side and knocked into Joey. The blonde turned around "What's wrong Yuge?" he asked

Yugi couldn't answer. The world was spinning around him and before he knew it the ground was rushing up to meet him.

* * *

"Yugi!" Joey screamed, catching his friend before his head collided with the concrete beneath them. "Help!" he cried up to the others who were all rushing over to his side.

"What happened?" Tristan, the first to arrive, asked, bending over the unconscious Yugi in Joey's arms.

"I don't know. He sorta bumped into me so I asked him what was wrong and… he… kinda passed out." Joey said, placing a hand on Yugi's forehead.

"Man he's on fire!" Joey yelped, pulling his hand away from Yugi's burning skin.

Ishisu and Tea arrived on the scene, both extremely worried. Tea leaned over Yugi and mimicked Joey's action, only to wince as her finger's brushed his flaming skin.

Ishisu knelt next to Yugi and held her hand a few inches above his face, her eyes closed. A few moments later she opened her eyes and sighed deeply. "Just as I thought." She murmured.

"What?!" The other three asked in unison.

Ishisu looked up at them and the three were surprised to see tears in her blue eyes. "Yugi holds a great power within his soul." She said quietly. "The power of light. It is a gift given to him by the gods and the reason why his life is so affected by destiny."

"And what does that have to do with what he's going through right now?" Joey asked impatiently.

"Light is a powerful and deadly thing." Ishisu continued. "It can quickly turn from an innocent flame to a blazing inferno if left unchecked. The Pharaoh was the reason why Yugi never had to deal with his light before. Atem is Yugi's darkness and helps smother the light when it gets out of control. But ever since Atem left the light has been growing in strength, and now it is too powerful for Yugi to control. If we don't bring Atem back soon Yugi's light will destroy him.

"What do you mean?" Tea asked with a trembling voice, knowing full well what the answer was.

Ishisu gaze met Tea's and she began to cry in earnest as she said "If we do not bring back the Pharaoh…Yugi will die."

* * *

A/N: End of Chapter! Aren't I evil?! What will happen to Yugi? Will they get Atem back before it's too late?! You'll just have to wait and see now won't you! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Told you I was evil! Now please R&R if you would like me to write the next chapter. (And please don't try to kill me in my sleep.)


	5. Chapter 5: The Ceremony

A/N: Hey everyone! Well I got bored and thought "He I haven't updated any of my stories in a while!" so here I am! This chapter is dedicated (as always) to my amazing reviewers! You guys rule! **WARNING- This chapter contains slight amounts of inappropriate language.**

_People speaking ancient Egyptian_

**Mirai-Vegeto- **1. Bakura is one of the evils mentioned so yes he will return. And no, Ryou is not affected like Yugi because he has a weaker light power. (Yugi is the Prince of Light after all) 2. I prefer spirit form as well; bodies don't really serve my purposes for this story.

**The Danvers Girls-** I hope the fall didn't hurt! Atem is coming honnie so just be patient. ;)

**Chillaxes-** You asked for more and you got it!

Disclaimer: YG- I decided to invite a little friend of mine over to help me do the disclaimer today! Say hi to the fans Yugi!

Yugi- Hey peeps what up!

YG- huggles the adorable hikari- Can you do me a favor?

Yugi- Sure YuugisGirl! Great name by the way!

YG- Thanks!

Yugi- Anyway, YuugisGirl doesn't own Yugioh or its characters. She only owns her OCs.

YG- Which will be showing up soon if you're wondering. Now enjoy the story!

* * *

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 5: The Ceremony

"N-No!" Joey stuttered, looking over at Ishisu imploringly. "Yugi can't… he can't die!"

"I'm afraid he will, Joey." Ishisu said softly, placing a hand on the boy's trembling shoulder.

"But there has to be a way we can save him!" Tristan cried, looking at Ishisu desperately.

"He can only be saved if his darkness is returned to him. We need the pharaoh." Ishisu replied, looking up at the pointy haired brunet. "And judging by his condition I'd say we only have a few hours till it's too late."

"Then what are we doing standing around here?!" Tristan cried, leaning over and lifting Yugi's limp form off the ground. "We have to get to Egypt NOW!"

The others nodded and followed Tristan over to the large private jet they'd be taking to Ishisu's homeland.

The silent party ascended the stairs and entered the aircraft. The luxurious plane, that would have usually dazzled the teens senseless, held no charm for them as all their attention was focused on the lifeless form in Tristan's arms.

"Over here." Ishisu said, leading them down a long hallway lined with doors. She stopped about half way down the hall and opened one of the numerous doors. The room inside as spacious, with a queen sized bed, flat screen T.V., and personal bathroom. Tristan placed Yugi gently down on the bed. The four of them stood their in silence before Ishisu finally whispered "I can show to your rooms now if you would like?"

The two boys nodded but Tea replied "I'll stay here with Yugi for now."

The other three nodded and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind them.

Tea sighed and pulled a chair over to Yugi's bedside. Slumping down into the chair, Tea examined Yugi's motionless form sadly. "Why does everything always have to happen to you?" she whispered, brushing Yugi's blonde bangs from his face and wincing at the heat that radiated from his skin. Yugi twitched slightly as her fingers brushed his forehead then sighed, making Tea smile sadly. 'I hope we get there soon.' She thought, gazing out the window at the clouds and setting sun. 'We need Atem now more than ever.'

Hours passed as the flight continued on. Tristan and Joey eventually returned to the room, bringing Tea something to eat. The three of them sat quietly around their unconscious friend, occasionally having short, whispered conversations about what was to come.

"I wonder how Ishisu's gonna bring the Pharaoh back." Joey said, leaning back in his chair and yawning. They had been sitting there a while and the silence was killing him.

"Don't know." Tristan replied, mimicking Joey's motion. "Probably with some weird Egyptian magic or something. Isn't that how they usually…" he was cut off as Yugi suddenly began to thrash around in his sleep.

"What's going on?!" Tea cried, leaning over and trying to placate the writhing boy. "Yugi. Yugi! Can you hear me?!" she said desperately, stroking his hair as he continued to thrash around. "It's okay Yugi! One of you, get some help!" she yelled, turning and staring beseechingly to the two boys.

Tristan nodded and quickly left the room. Joey strode over to Tea's side and fell to his knees, gripping one of Yugi's hands and trying to ignore the burning heat he felt radiating from his skin. "Yug, it's gonna be okay." He whispered soothingly. "We're here. Everything's gonna be fine."

"Joey…" Yugi croaked hoarsely, turning to face him.

"Yeah Yug, I'm here." Joey said, looking at Yugi's tortured face.

"Joey… It hurts…" Yugi rasped, looking at his friend. His amethyst eyes were full in pain and fear. "It hurts…Joe."

"I know. I know." Joey whispered kindly, tears in his eyes as he watched his friend suffer, unable to help him.

Tea sobbed silently beside him, still stroking Yugi's disheveled hair.

Tristan suddenly burst in, Ishisu at his side. The Sorceress rushed over to Yugi's side and knelt before him, her hand over his forehead. She closed her eyes and began muttering in Egyptian. Her Millennium Necklace flashed and a glowing eye appeared on Ishisu's forehead. The tomb keeper continued chanting her spell and an identical eye suddenly appeared on Yugi's forehead as well. Suddenly the teen stopped thrashing and sighed, his eyes drooping shut.

"What did you do to him?" Tristan asked as the eyes faded from both their foreheads.

"I put him in a trance." Ishisu said, looking carefully at Yugi's now peaceful face. "It may be able to shield him from the pain for a little while, but it cannot prevent the light from draining Yugi's strength."

"How much longer does he have till…" Tea said, her voice trailing off as she considered implications of she was asking.

"At best, I'd say two hours." The sorceress replied, standing and turning to face her.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Joey said, punching the wall in frustration. "I can't just sit around here and watch my best friend die!"

"Calm down Joey!" Tristan said, glaring angrily over at his friend. "We all care about Yugi and punching walls and shouting isn't going to help him!" He turned to face Ishisu. "How long until we reach Egypt."

"We'll be there in about another hour and a half." She replied.

"See Joey. Once we get to Egypt… Wait…WHAT?! Are you saying that once we get there we'll only have thirty minutes to get to these tunnels, resurrect the pharaoh and join him with Yugi!" Tristan cried. "How are we gonna do that?!"

"I don't know…" Ishisu said softly, looking at the ground.

"What do you mean you don't…" Tristan was cut off as Tea screamed "STOP!"

Glaring at her friend the brunet snarled "Look, we can't do anything for Yugi right now so just stop fighting!"

Tristan looked shocked for a second before he bowed his head and muttered an apology to Ishisu.

"That's better." Tea huffed, taking her seat next to Yugi and saying much more kindly "Now let's just stay calm until we get there okay."

"Alright." She heard the other three say from behind her.

The final hour and a half of the trip seemed to drag on for eternity. Tea and Ishisu sat next to Yugi bed, stroking his hair and sponging his burning forehead. Tristan paced constantly around the room, looking at his watch every five minutes with impatience. And Joey leaned against a wall, his head bowed deep in thought, occasionally looking over at Yugi with a sad smile on his face. As the minutes dragged on Yugi breathing became labored and his limbs would twitch wildly every once in a while. "My trance is wearing off." Ishisu muttered as Yugi gave an involuntary gasp of pain. "We don't have much time."

Suddenly the pilot's voice came over the intercom, signally that the flight would be over in a few more minutes and advising them to gather their belongings. Tristan and Joey left to fetch anything they might have left in their rooms and Ishisu and Tea stayed by Yugi's side as the plane began to descend.

"We have arrived at the Ishtar Private Airport." The pilot called over the intercom. "Thank you for flying with us."

"You have your own airport?" Tea asked as she and Ishisu stood and stretched.

"Yeah well we do own a lot of ancient Egyptian artifacts, and museums will pay any price to display them." Ishisu replied, examining Yugi's face. "We don't have much more time." She whispered as he twitched again.

Just then Joey and Tristan came back into the room, their backpacks over their shoulders. Tristan went over the large bed and swept Yugi gently up into his arms. "Alright, let's go. We only have a few minutes."

The other three nodded and they all sped out of the jet.

As they descended the stairs they could see their luggage being loaded onto a bus off to the right. When they reached the bottom of the stair case a familiar blonde boy with lavender eyes and tan skin was there to greet them. "You're here!" Marik said joyfully to his sister. His joy quickly turned to fear and shock as he saw the unconscious Yugi in Tristan's arms. "Ishisu what's going on?!" he asked, his voce full of concern.

"No time to explain." Ishisu said. "We need to get Yugi to the caves as fast as possible."

Marik nodded and led them over to a large off road jeep. He hoped into the driver's seat and Ishisu grabbed the passenger side, forcing the other three to cram into the back, laying Yugi over there laps. As soon as everyone was situated, Marik slammed his foot down on the accelerator and they sped down the road.

"Ishisu!" Joey called over the noise of the engine. "How much time do we have left?"

"Twenty minutes!" she called back, looking fearful.

"Would anybody mind telling me what the hell is going on!" Marik screamed as they continued to tear down the path.

"Yugi's light is over whelming him." Ishisu said "We only have a few minutes before it's too late!"

"Shit!" Marik cried, pushing his foot down harder on the pedal.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Tristan yelled as Yugi began to fidget again.

"I'm pushing it as hard as I can!" Marik called back, shooting Yugi an anxious look through the rearview mirror.

The minutes seamed to drag on no matter how fast Marik drove. Yugi began thrashing around as he had on the plane only this time it was accompanied by cries of agony.

"He's getting worse!" Tea shrieked, cradling Yugi's burning head in her lap as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

All of them suddenly cried out in shock as Marik turned the car off road and sped off towards a high walled valley.

"How much time Ishisu?!" Joey cried frantically as Yugi let out yet another cry of pain.

"Fifteen minutes!" she said as the car rattled over the uneven ground.

Marik growled and pushed down even harder on the accelerator, causing the four in the back to nearly fall out of their seats.

"Hurry!" Tea said tearfully as Yugi's skin boiled. He groaned and thrashed, his friends watching helplessly as he suffered.

"Almost there!" Marik grunted as they entered the valley. He felt a pang in his chest as Yugi screamed, once again and prayed to the gods that he would be okay.

"Ishisu suddenly cried "Stop!"

Marik threw on the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt right outside the entrance to the caves. It was so small that anybody who hadn't know that there was a cavern beyond would have thought it was merely a crack in the wall.

Without a moments hesitation the five of them clambered out to the jeep, Tristan sweeping Yugi into his arms once more, and sprinted towards the entrance.

"How much time's left?!" Joey yelled as Yugi screamed bloody murder.

"Five minutes!" Ishisu said hysterically.

"SHIT!" Marik cried, flicking on his flash light and plunging in to the cave.

The other followed him, sprinting through the long tunnel Ishisu had described to Yugi, guided by his light.

"RUN FASTER DAMN IT!" Joey cried as Yugi's screams increased in volume.

The others sped along the passageway until they finally reached the room at the end. If one of their closest friends hadn't been on the edge of death they would have gasped in awe at the sight of the golden chamber. As it was they had slightly more pressing things on their minds.

"Here." Ishisu cried, indicating a spot right in front of a large golden tablet in the center of the room. Tristan placed the screaming and thrashing Yugi on the floor where Ishisu had told him and backed away as the sorceress began to chant.

Raising her arms high in the air, Ishisu began to whisper the hieroglyphs that were inscribed on the table beneath the tablet, her voice getting louder ever time she repeated the three lined spell. "_Oh ancient spirits hear my cry. Three gods of Egypt in the sky. Return the King of Shadows." _

Unable to understand what she was saying the three friends watched helplessly as their friend continued to writhe on the floor, his screams echoing around the chamber. Joey looked down at his watch and let out a cry of shock. They only had one minute left!

(Inside Yugi's mind)

The searing pain continued to rack his entire body, making his breathing labored and his entire being cry out in agony. He didn't know who he was, where he was, or why he was even there. All he knew was the pain.

Behind his eyelids he was blinded by a brightness that could over power several suns. He couldn't shield himself from the light or the pain. Both were swirling around him, surrounding him in a blanket of fire. Fire, that raced through his veins and charred his heart. Fire, that laced his skin in a cocoon of heat. He was filled with the fire, the light, the pain, totally consumed by it, and he couldn't escape. He was going to die. 'Even deaths got to be better than this.' Yugi thought.

Suddenly he felt the fire being put out by some icy force. The light and pain were being smothered by a darkness that crept in from the corners of his sight, a blanket of shadows that wrapped around the light and buried it. And then Yugi was no longer on fire. 'Was this death?' Yugi slowly lifted his heavy eyelids and peered up into a pair of bright crimson eyes.

* * *

Yugi- I died! And now I'm looking up into the eyes of the devil! sobs

YG- Yugi calm down! You're-

Yugi- You killed me! I can't believe you killed me!

YG- Yugi listen! I didn't-

Bakura- Wow you actually managed to kill him. You did something I been trying to do forever!

YG- Bakura when did you get here?! You don't come into this story for at least one or two more chapters!

Bakura- I thought I pop in and say hi. Anyway, congrats on killing the midget!

YG- Quit saying I killed Yugi you're freaking him out!

Yugi- sobs

Bakura- Just telling the truth!

YG- hits Bakura in the head with a pipe Anyway, review if you want me to write the next chapter! I want at least five more before I post the next one!

Bakura- Someone's getting greedy.

YG- hits Bakura again and huggles crying Yugi Sorry about the crappy spell/poem (I'm not really good at those types of things) Hope you liked this chapter!


	6. Chapter 6: Reunion

A/N: Wow those five reviews came faster then I expected! Well here's the chapter! As always it's dedicated to my awesome reviewers!

Disclaimer: YG:-Yugi is still recovering from what happened last chapter.

Yugi- curled up in dark corner- I'm not dead. I'm not dead. I'm not dead…

YG- Rolls eyes- Hey Bakura you can do the disclaimer now!

Bakura-jumps in with huge uncharacteristic smile on his face- Yippee!

YG-Bakura did you have sugar today.

Bakura- shaking and twitching- Only a few bags!! Chipmunks!

YG- Slaps forehead- Oh I give up! I don't own Yugioh. Now just read the story while I take care of these two.

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 6: Reunion

Yugi's eyes widened as he gazed up at the two crimson pools above him. "A-Atem." He said weakly, trying to sit up strait. His blurry vision began to clear and the figure before him came into sharper focus. There was no denying it. The spiky tri-colored hair with lightning like streaks shooting up into the spikes. The sharp face, and crimson eyes, "Atem!" Yugi cried as tears filled his amethyst eyes.

The figure before him nodded and said in a deep baritone voice "Yeah it's me."

"Atem!" Yugi cried again, the tears flowing freely down his face as he wrapped his arms around his darker half's neck. The taller returned the gesture, holding his lighter half tightly to himself.

After a few minutes later the two pulled apart, tears in both their eyes. "You're back." Yugi whispered softly.

"Yeah." The pharaoh said happily "I'm home."

Yugi looked up at his darker half in pure joy before bringing his fist up and letting it connect with Atem's jaw.

"OWWWWW!" The spirit screamed jumping up in shock. "What was THAT for?!" he cried, rubbing his chin.

"THAT was for leaving me!" Yugi cried anger coursing though him. "THIS." He said, lashing out and punching his yami in the stomach. "Is for almost letting me die!" Atem fell to his knees, clutching his torso and Yugi kicked his arm. "And THAT was for not saying sorry."

Moaning in agony Atem looked up at his hikari and saw tears glistening in the familiar amethyst eyes. "I'm sorry Yugi… for everything." He cried earnestly feeling tears pool in his eyes that had nothing to do with the beating he had just taken. "I never wanted to leave…I…"

He was cut off as Yugi swooped him up into a hug. "I accept." He whispered.

The pharaoh smiled and stroked the smaller one's hair. "I can't say I didn't deserve that." He laughed and as his lighter half looked around. He had just realized that they were inside Atem's soul room. A labyrinth of doors and stairways extended along as far as the eye can see.

"How did I get in here?" he asked, looking up into Atem's eyes.

"I brought you here to help shield you from your light." The pharaoh replied. "Your soul room was on fire and you lay inside in unconscious so I brought you here to keep you safe."

"Thanks." Yugi said, standing up and stretching. "Well let's get out there; I'm sure the others are anxious to see you."

Atem nodded and Yugi seceded control of his body to the pharaoh, closing his eyes and appearing next to him in spirit form.

His friends were crowded, on their knees, around his body. Joey and Tristan looked extremely worried and Tea's face was buried in Tristan's shoulder. Ishisu stood above them, biting her bottom lip. Marik stood next to his sister cursing under his breath as Yugi continued to remain unconscious

As soon as Atem opened his eyes all four of them smiled. "Yugi!" Tea screamed, wrapping his arms around the pharaoh's neck and sobbing hysterically.

"Tea give Yug some air!" Joey said, pulling the crying girl off Atem's chest.

"Thanks Joey." Atem said, sitting up and rubbing his neck. "But I'm not Yugi."

"Atem?!" all five of them cried out in unison. The spirit nodded and Ishisu smiled and bowed. "My pharaoh." She whispered. Her brother nodded and bowed slightly as well.

"Atem!" Tea cried once more, squeezing the pharaoh tightly.

"Tea…can't…breathe…"

"Sorry!" she cried, releasing her choke hold on his neck.

"Atem." Joey said "Now that you're back there's something I gotta say."

"Yes Joey." The pharaoh said curiously.

"How the hell could you do that to us?!" Joey screamed causing the shocked pharaoh to fall backwards onto his hand.

"You leave after knowing us all these years and then you almost cause Yugi to die!" Yugi could swear there were sparks flying from Joey's ears.

"What have you got to say for yourself?!" the blonde said, glaring down at the pharaoh, his fists clenched.

"Joey… no everyone… I'm so sorry." Atem said earnestly looking around at all their faces. "I…I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry for the grief I caused you all. And…" he said, looking over at his spirit form hikari "I'm truly sorry for what my absence has done to you Yugi."

The boy just smiled. 'You are already forgiven, Yami.' He said through their mind link.

Atem smiled at his old name and saw Tristan holding out a hand to him. "Alright Pharaoh." He said "We forgive you."

Tears weald up once more in Atem's eyes as he took the proffered hand. Tristan helped him up and Joey patted him on the back. "It's great to have you back buddy." The other four nodded in agreement and Yugi beamed at him.

The Millennium Puzzle flashed once more and Yugi felt himself return to his body.

"Yug is that you?" Joey asked as the light from the puzzle faded.

"Yeah." He said smiling before having his airway cut off as two arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Oh Yugi we were so worried! You were sick and when Ishisu finished the ceremony you didn't wake up and we thought that…"

"Please…Tea…air…" Yugi gasped. She released him and Joey ruffled his hair affectionately. Tristan patted him on the back and the two Ishtars watched the scene with smiles on their faces.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm starving." Marik said after a minutes.

Yugi nodded and said "I'm with Marik on this one. By the way _when _did Marik get here?"

"Oh." Tea said as the six of them headed towards the entrance to the tunnel. "He drove us here did you know they have their own private airport?!"

The party went on laughing and joking merrily. 'Everyone's happy huh Yugi.' He heard Atem say through their link. He turned to his right and saw the pharaoh walking beside him in spirit form.

'Yeah. You're back. We're in Egypt. And I'm no longer dying. I'd say that's a good enough cause for celebration.'

Atem laughed as they finally reached the entrance to the cave. The five of then started rushing towards the jeep but Yugi stayed behind. Turning to the pharaoh he said through their mind link 'I really am glad that your back Yami.' The pharaoh draped his translucent arm around his hikari's shoulders.

'So am I Yugi. So am I.'

* * *

Ryou walked down the dark deserted street, head held down against the steady rain. His long white hair stuck to his pale face and his brown eyes roved the street with caution. "Figures." He muttered under his breath, shaking his hair out of his eyes. The one day he didn't have an umbrella it was raining! And he was walking around the streets alone at night! But that wasn't entirely his fault. Tracey had asked him to pick up her shift and then to lock up so he didn't have anyone one to walk home with.

Ryou shivered and pulled his coat tighter around him. 'Only a few more blocks.' he thought to himself. A car drove by just then and splattered him with water. Coughing and spluttering Ryou glared after the driver. He was completely soaked. "Today just isn't my day." He grumbled, taking his jacket off and ringing the water out of it. 'Well at least the rains starting to let up.' he thought dryly.

As Ryou continued to squeeze the water out of his jacket a shadow moved across the street behind him. Whipping around Ryou yelled "Who's there?!" There was no reply. Gulping Ryou took a step back and started walking quickly down the lane glancing back whenever he heard the slightest rustle.

After a few more minutes of nervous walking Ryou could see his apartment building a few doors down from where he was standing. 'Almost there.' He thought, glancing over his shoulder once more. As he turned back around however Ryou heard a sound that chilled his bones to the core. "No!" he screamed, running now as a murderous laugh reached his ears. 'They said I'd never have to hear that voice again!' he thought completely panicked now.

He sprinted down the street, the laughter following him, getting closer and closer. "Stay away from me!" he cried grabbing the handle to his apartment complex's door. Suddenly he felt a cloth being placed over nose and mouth. Ryou struggled again his unseen attacker but felt himself becoming weaker and drowsier by the second. Ryou lost consciousness and slumped limply in his attacker's arms, the last thing he heard was a low and dangerous chuckle.

Ryou blinked and looked around. He was no longer outside his apartment complex but was sitting in a chair in the middle of a pitch black room. He could feel his hands bound behind his back and struggled helplessly against the ropes.

Suddenly Ryou heard a rustling sound form the darkness in front of him. "W-Who's there?" He called out to the gloom. Ryou gasped as a spotlight was flicked on and directed at his face. Squinting against the blinding light Ryou saw something moving in the blackness before him.

A figure detached itself from the shadows. The boy was tall, about Ryou age, with long golden blonde hair that fell down to his blue eyes. He was extremely pale, not like Ryou, but very close. The figure looked at him with those piercing blue eyes and Ryou felt a shiver of fear travel through him. He knew that look.

"It's nice to see you again, host." The figure said moving closer to him.

Ryou gasped. 'That voice. It was HIS voice! But it couldn't be…'

"Oh you can't have forgotten me!' the boy said in mock surprise. "Well I'll give you a little reminder." Reaching down into his shirt the stranger pulled out something that glinted gold in the spotlight.

"The Millennium Ring!" Ryou cried as he caught sight of the circle with a triangle in its center and pointers all around its rim, the familiar eye etched in its center. "You!" he shouted looking up at the figure in fear.

"Oh, so you haven't forgotten me!" Bakura said moving closer to Ryou "And I was beginning to worry that I hadn't left a good enough impression on you last time."

"What do you want Bakura?!" Ryou said, trying to sound fierce but failing miserably.

Bakura laughed harshly making Ryou shiver. "Simple really, I've come back for my body." He said, making his fingers walk over Ryou shoulder. The boy flinched and tried to move away from thief, but, being tied to a chair, he couldn't get that far.

Bakura chuckled as Ryou tried to edge away from his touch and moved his fingers over to Ryou's neck. "The fool whose body I inhabit now is a weakling brat. I much rather be back in my … original vessel." He crooned, moving his fingers slowly up the boy's neck.

Ryou trembled as the thief took a lock of his hair and twirled it between his fingers. "And w-what makes you think I'm going to let you take over my body."

"Simple." he said, leaning down so he could whisper in Ryou's ear. "I won't give you any choice.

Bakura lifted the ring over his head and smiled at the look of pure terror in Ryou eyes. "I'm home." He whispered as he slipped the ring around Ryou's neck.

* * *

YG: Well that's the chapter I hope you liked it. I'm getting evil with the cliffies aren't I? You got to love them!

Bakura-Yay! I came back in this chapter!

YG- Bakura I thought I locked you in the closet because you couldn't stop yelling about chipmunks! How'd you get out?!

Bakura- They don't call me the King of Thieves for nothing!

Yugi- Well at least I'm not dead!

YG- I told you I didn't kill you!

Bakura- That kinda sucks. I was really hoping you would.

YG-rolls eyes- Well please review. You know the drill. Five more for the next chapter!

Bakura- So you're gonna make that into a thing?

YG- knocks Bakura out with a brick- Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: At the Ishtar's

* * *

A/N: Woo-hoo! Five reviews in two days! I know that doesn't seem like a lot to some of you guys but it means so much to me! Thank you all for reviewing! I'm dedicating this entire story to you awesome people!!

Disclaimer: YG: YUGI STOP ACTING LIKE AN IDIOT!!

Yugi-doing a weird little dance and singing- I'm not deeeaaad woo! I'm not deeeaaad ah! I'm not deeeaaad eh! I'm not deeeaaad oh!

Bakura- He's been doing that for TWO DAYS STRAIGHT!! My ears are bleeding!!

YG- covering ears- I know what you mean! YUGI SHUT UP!!

Yugi- I'm not deeeaaad ha! I'm not deeeaaad ummmmm- hand placed over mouth-

YG- Thank you Bakura. Now go tie Yugi up and put him in the closet. Wow that's two sentences I never thought I'd say!

Bakura- As you wish YG-carries away squirming Yugi-

YG- Now that that's taken care of, I don't own any of the characters and ideas of Yugioh, only my OCs, two of which are debuting in this chapter!! Now onto the story!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 7: At the Ishtar's

Yugi sighed as he settled back into one of Ishisu's plushy armchairs. "This is the life." Joey said as he and Tristan reclined back in the chairs and sighed in unison. Tea and Yugi giggled as they munched away at the mini finger sandwiches one of the maids had sent them. The four of them were currently sitting in one of the Ishitar's many living rooms. When they had arrived at the former tomb keepers' mansion they were in complete awe of the grander that beheld them.

"It's the most amazing house I've ever seen!" Yugi had remarked, which was saying a lot seeing as he had been inside both Pegasus's castle and Kiaba's splendid manor.

"Oh this is nothing!" Marik had said, waving his hand dismissively. "This is just our weekend home."

Atem appeared beside Yugi in spirit form, looking around at their surroundings appreciatively. 'And I thought my palace was grand.' The pharaoh said through their mind link, tracing one of his translucent fingers over the surface of a solid gold vase.

'I know!' Yugi replied, following the slow movements his yami was making on the vase. 'I bet my duel deck that thing cost more than my entire house!' he said pointing at it.

The pharaoh laughed and asked 'Speaking of Duel Monsters, what has the new King of Games done with his career.'

Yugi fingered his jacket nervously, contemplating whether or not to tell Atem. 'Well…um…you see…the thing is..." his thoughts were interrupted as Atem said. 'You know I never thought you of all people would forget that I can hear all your thoughts.'

Yugi jumped and blushed furiously as the pharaoh laughed, then sighed sadly. 'So you know huh?'

'Know that you haven't so much as touched a duel monsters card since I left? Yugi.' He said placing an arm around Yugi's shoulders as the small boy began to sob quietly. 'It's okay. I understand.' He said reassuringly. Yugi gave his friend a smile before being awoken from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Tea asked her blue eyes full of concern.

"Fine." Yugi replied, whipping his eyes and smiling up at her. "Just talking to Yami."

Tea nodded, still concerned and said "Maybe you should get some rest. You had a pretty rough day today after all."

Yugi nodded and stood, stretching and yawning expansively.

"I think I'll turn in too." Joey said, lifting himself up out of the recliner quickly followed by Tristan.

Just then an elderly woman with snow white hair and various wrinkles appeared in the large doorway to the room. "Are you ready to go to your bedrooms?" she asked, warm brown eyes crinkling slightly as she smiled. The woman was wearing the black and white uniforms all the Ishtar servants wore, and her hair was tided into a tight bun on the back of her head.

"Yes we are." Tea said, smiling brightly.

"Well then just follow me." The woman turned and walked out of the room, leaving the four teenagers to hurry along in her wake

"I'm Olivia Dealy dearies, but you can call me Ms. Dealy." Yugi didn't know what, but something about the old woman's smile was strangely comforting to him and he couldn't help but smile back. (A/N: Ms. Dealy is one of my OCs and I try to have her in every one of my multi-chapter stories. Check out A Wish for Friendship if you like her character, her role is much bigger in that story.)

"Thank you for showing us to our rooms Ms. Dealy." He said kindly as they sped down a long hallway full Egyptian art.

"Man Marik and Ishisu are LOADED!" Joey cried as he gazed around the hall. "I mean Kiaba's rich and all but even HE doesn't have a house like this!"

The other three nodded, and Ms. Dealy giggled slightly. "Yes I would say that Master Marik and Mistress Ishisu are very wealthy indeed, but it's nothing that they don't deserve. Did you know that they used to live under ground?!"

The four of them exchanged knowing glances, smiles playing on the corners of their mouths, unseen by Ms. Dealy. They soon came to a spiral staircase that twirled upward to the many stories above. They followed the servant quietly, hands tracing along the mahogany banisters as they climbed higher.

Each floor they passed seemed to have been decorated in a different cultural theme. Obliviously the first floor was modeled after Egypt, with its ancient artwork and golden artifacts. The second floor they had passed seemed to reflect a more Asian style. The walls were bare except for a few paintings of water lilies and Blossom trees, and the hardwood floors were dark and smooth. The third floor was decorated a tribal theme, a large mural of a Native American village covered the nearest wall to them.

"Here we are." Ms. Dealy said as they reached the fourth floor. The stairs extended up another couple of stories and Yugi was determined to go exploring later. 'Maybe we can go tomorrow.' He thought to Atem as the Pharaoh appeared beside him.

The floor on which they now stood was decorated in a tropical beach design. The walls were white but covered with numerable exotic flowers and paintings of the sea. Yugi swore he could almost taste the salty tang of the ocean lingering in the air.

The four followed their guide along the hallway, admiring their surroundings in appreciative silence. Finally Ms. Dealy stopped as she reached four doors, two on each side of the wall, all of them facing each other. "This is Miss. Gardner's room, Mr. Taylor's, Mr. Wheeler's, and Mr. Motou's." the elderly woman said, pointing to each of the doors in turn. "You will find your things already inside the closets of your rooms. If you need anything just ring the bell near your door and a servant shall be sent up to you in a matter of minutes."

"Thank you again Ms. Dealy." Yugi said as the woman smiled and began walking away.

"Well I'll be tucking in for the night." Joey said, yawning widely. "Night guys."

"Me too." Tristan replied stretching "Night Joey, Yugi, Tea."

"Good night Yugi, Tristan, Joey."

"Good night Joey, Tea and Tristan." And with that all four of them headed into their separate rooms.

* * *

Yugi felt his mouth drop as he stared around his new bedroom. The room was easily as wide as his entire house! The walls were a pale, sky blue and made Yugi think of fresh summer days spent on the beach with his parents so long ago… A bed was pressed against the left wall, a light blue veil falling around the plump white sheets. A set of double doors to Yugi's right revealed a spacious bathroom, complete with whirlpool tub (no own) and multi-jet shower. Next to the bathroom was a gigantic walk-in closet big enough to hold all the clothes Yugi had ever worn.

Yugi stumbled backwards, completely in awe of what he was seeing. "Man Joey was right. Ishisu and Marik have it made!" Yugi cried, running over to another set of double doors that revealed a large balcony that over looked the beautiful Egyptian landscape.

'If this is just one of the guest rooms then I'd love to see what their own rooms look like.' Atem said, appearing beside his hikari and staring out into the starlit sky.

Yugi smiled up at the pharaoh. Had it really only been a few hours ago when he had lay, dying on an airplane. It seemed like a long forgotten dream. In fact the passed few months Yugi had spent wallowing in loneliness and despair seemed to have melted away the instant he'd looked into Atem's crimson eyes. All of it seemed like a nightmare that he'd suddenly waken up from.

It was almost like a fairytale, being here with his best friend, in an amazing foreign country, in a mansion fit for several kings. He was half expecting it to all fade away at any given moment, for the harsh nightmare to return steal his yami away. But nothing happened. His translucent friend just leaned casually against the railing, sighing as he felt the wind push past him and ruffle his spiked hair.

Yugi watched Atem, a small smile on his face. It had always amazed him that even thought only he could feel and see Atem as a solid object in spirit form, the pharaoh was just as affect by the world around him as Yugi was. He really didn't have words to describe how incredibly whole he felt now that the spirit was back in his mind, his familiar present just fit; connecting with Yugi's consciousness like it was meant to be. Like a jigsaw puzzle the two just formed together seamlessly as whole. When Atem had left, Yugi had felt as though he'd lost more than just a friend, but a very part of his soul. And now he was back.

Yugi's amethyst eyes met Atem's crimson ones and both of them smiled. 'I feel the same way.' His yami said through their link. 'When I passed through those gates into the afterlife I saw my loved ones from the past, friends, family, and I longed to be with them again. But when I tired to go forward, I found that I couldn't move. I was held back by some invisible force. When I looked behind me I saw you, Joey, Tea, Tristan, and everyone I had left behind. I watched you all surfer, especially you Yugi. Even when the others seemed to be getting over me you remained, silent, depressed, you seemed to be getting even worse. I longed to reach out and comfort you, but I couldn't move Yugi. I couldn't…' Tears began forming in the corners of Atem's eyes as he recalled his agony. 'I couldn't get any closer my friends and family of old and you were just out of my reach. So I sat there, suspended between both my hearts greatest desires, unable to move closer to either. I felt like a starving man, tied to a chair and forced to gaze at two delicious feasts.' He shuddered and sank to his knees, tears streaming down from his eyes.

Yugi knelt beside the pharaoh and threw his arms around the sobbing monarch's shoulders. It's okay Yami. You're here now and that's all that matters." Atem looked up at Yugi, his crimson eyes sparkling with tears and gave his friend a shaky smile.

"OH MY GOD!" the scream tore through the calm night. "JOEY!" Yugi and Atem shouted in unison.

Yugi jumped up and dashed out of his room, hurrying to the door next to his where Ms. Dealy had said Joey was staying. Wrenching the door open Yugi whirled inside, looking around frantically and spotting a pair of double doors open to his left. Sprinting through them Yugi cried "Joey!" again.

His blonde friend stood in the corner of a spacious bathroom, his back to him. "Joey are you alright?!" Yugi cried, rushing to his friend's side.

"Oh my god." Joey whispered again, his eyes fixed on something Yugi couldn't see.

"What is it?!" Yugi asked urgently.

"The toilet is solid gold." Joey whispered softly.

"What?" Yugi asked again.

"THE TOILET' S SOILD GOLD!!" Joey cried, whirling around to face his short friend, an extremely excited look on his face.

Yugi looked at his friend for a second before smacking himself hard on the forehead. "Let me get this straight." Yugi muttered slowly, palm sliding down his face. "You just screamed like you were being tortured because you wanted me to come look at a toilet?"

"A solid GOLD toilet." Joey said, obviously surprised that Yugi wasn't more enthusiastic.

"Yes Joey, but it's still a toilet." Yugi said exasperatedly.

"But it's solid GOLD!" Joey cried, leaning down and hugging the golden toilet.

"Okay… I'm going to leave now." Yugi said, edgy away from Joey who was now cradling the toilet like it was a baby and muttering "My golden toilet…My golden toilet…"

Yugi shut the bedroom door quietly behind him and banged his head against the wall. 'You know.' He said through to Atem through their mind link. 'Sometimes I think Kiaba's got a point. Something is seriously wrong with Joey.'

The only reply was the pharaoh's hysterical laughter.

* * *

The sun beat down on the deserted streets of Domino, its heat confining the city's residents to their air conditioned homes. An old man looked up and down the street, sighing heavily and wiping the sweat from his brow. "As soon as this porch is clean I'm going straight back inside." Solomon Motou grumbled under his breath. Business had been even slower than usual today, seeing as everyone was reluctant to leave their homes, so the shop keeper had taken the opportunity to tidy up the front of his rather dingy looking store. He had regretted the decision the moment he'd stepped outside into the blazing heat of the day, but he'd already made the commitment and he knew he would have to do it eventually anyway. 'I just wish I could have someone to talk to. Yugi's only been gone a day and a half, but it feels like eternity in that empty house.' Solomon thought as he attempted to force the rather stubborn dust off his front porch. He'd at least hoped that some of his more loyal customers would stop by for a chat, but no such luck. 'After all who in they're right mind would wonder around outside on a scorching day like this?' he thought, finally succeeding in unseating some of the dirt.

As soon as the thought had popped into his head a lone figure had appeared on the street, striding up pavement, his head down. 'Apparently not all people are in their right minds.' He thought as the stranger got closer to him and his shop. "Is he mad?!" the shop keeper almost shouted in surprise as the figure got closer. "It's got to be at least 100 degrees outside and he's wearing a trench coat!!"

The stranger finally stopped in front of the elderly shop keeper. His face was still turned towards the ground, his long black hair obscuring his features. "Excuse me?" Mr. Motou said politely, looking down at the stranger curiously. "Can I help you?"

The figure slowly lifted his head, a cruel smile twisting his lips as his cold black eyes met Solomon's terrified gaze. "Yes, I think you can." He said sinisterly in a slightly raspy voice. "Would you mind telling me where I could find Yugi Motou?"

* * *

YG: Evil cliffies! Gotta love them! FYI- That guy is one of my OCs just encase you were wondering. Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it! Please remember to R&R! I want another five before I make the next chapter!

Bakura- YG RUN!!

YG- Why?

Bakura- Yugi escaped and now he's got a microphone!

YG- NOT A MICROPHONE!!

Yugi- walks into room with microphone and giant amps- I'm no deeeaaad ooh! I'm not…

YG- Flee if you value your lives!!


	8. Chapter 8: Back to School

AN: Oh my god I haven't updated in fourteen days!! Kicks self Ouch! Sorry for the late update! Hope you like this new chapter! As always it's dedicated to my awesome reviewers!!

Disclaimer: YG- crying in a dark corner

Yugi- YG what's wrong?

YG- I only got two reviews last chapter! cries harder

Yugi- Shh. It's okay. pats YG on the back

Bakura- Hey what's up with her?

Yugi- She didn't get a lot of reviews last chapter.

YG- I feel so unloved!!

Yami- enters room Hey Yugi! glares Tomb Robber.

Bakura- glares Pharaoh.

Yami- Hey what's wrong with YG?

Yugi- She only got two reviews last chapter.

Yami- How dare those readers not review! Mind cru-

YG- No Yami you can't mind crush them just because they didn't review my story!! sigh I don't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh. Only my OCs.

Bakura- Next time she won't be so lenient about the reviews!

Yami- Yeah she only updated because some people still read this story and she hasn't updated in a while! So you people better review or I might just have to mind crush you!

Yugi- Yeah! Now onto the story!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 8: Back to school…hurray…

Yugi yawned, sitting up and stretching widely. The sun was shining brightly through the curtains around his bed casting shadows across his pale face.

'Morning Yugi' Atem said, appearing beside his hikari in spirit form.

'Morning Yami!' Yugi said, smiling brightly as he slid out of the bed.

'You know you can call me Atem right?' The pharaoh asked as Yugi grabbed the clothes that had been laid out at the foot of his bed and began to pull them on.

'I know.' Yugi said as he finished adjusting the collar around his neck. 'But you're always going to be Yami to me. The whole time I knew you, you were only Atem for a few days.'

The spirit smiled as he watched Yugi pull the Millennium Puzzle over his neck. In a way he preferred his hikari calling him Yami. For some reason it seemed to just fit.

'Let's go down to breakfast!' Yugi chirped happily, practically skipping out the door. Atem smiled slightly before following his hyperactive friend. (Yugi- I am not hyperactive!! Bakura- You kinda are. Yami- nods in agreement Yugi-sulks)

"Hey!" Tea said happily as Yugi and the invisible pharaoh entered to dining room. "Good morning." Yugi replied taking a seat next to his friend and looking around.

The room was large and reminded Yugi forcefully of a cathedral. The ceiling rose high above their heads, long windows causing the early morning light to filter in and illuminate the space. A gigantic wood table stretched from one end of the room to the other and was piled high with breakfast foods. Mountains of biscuits were surrounded by a river of gravy. Pancakes and waffles were stacked up like skyscrapers and drown in globs of maple syrup and whipped cream. Apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelons, and oranges sat on shiver trays all around the table. Sausages, bacon and eggs outlined the other dishes and in the center of the display were pastries and other such delicacies piled up high like a sugar coated castle. (AN: I was hungry when I wrote this can't you tell?)

Yugi felt his mouth water and quickly grabbed a large stack of pancakes. Drowning his breakfast in syrup, whipped cream and strawberries Yugi heard a deep chuckle coming from beside him.

"What?!" he cried turning to face the laughing pharaoh.

Atem just shook his head and pointed over to the opposite side of the table.

Turning to the direction his yami was pointing, Yugi saw Tristan and Joey, faces covered in whipped cream and icing, shoving handfuls of doughnuts into their mouths.

Yugi burst out laughing, shaking Joey and Tristan out of their feeding frenzy. "What?" Joey asked thickly through a mouthful of food.

"You two look like chipmunks!" Yugi cried, pointing to his two friends bulging cheeks.

Tea giggled as Tristan and Joey blushed and tried furiously to force the food down their throats.

After they had finally freed their airways Joey shot his two friends an If-you-don't-shut-up-now-I'll-kill-you look which only made him look more ridiculous, considering his face was still covered in icing.

Tristan, noticing this, handed his friend a napkin and began to clean off his own face as well.

Yugi just shook his head, smiling, and began to dig into his pancakes.

When they had finally finished, the maids came in and swept all of the dirty dishes away. Joey and Tristan leaned back in their chairs and sighed contentedly, both their stomachs bulging outwards.

"That was good." Joey said, patting his stomach and letting out a large belch.

"JOEY!!" Tea said indignantly, covering her nose and glaring at him. "Have some manners!"

"What?!" he cried innocently as Tristan burped as well.

"TRISTAN!" Tea cried.

"That was pitiful!" Joey cried, ignoring Tea and turning to face his pointy haired friend. "I could so do better!"

"Oh yeah?" Tristan sneered. "That sounds like a challenge to me. Let's hear it!"

Yugi buried his face in his hands as Joey and Tristan got into a very loud and stomach churning burp off, causing a very irritated Tea to start yelling at them at the top of her lungs.

'I don't think they'll notice if we slip out.' The pharaoh whispered, even though no one else but Yugi could hear him.

Yugi nodded and slid quietly out of his chair, backing away slowly from the table before sprinting out the door.

Dashing up the stairs to his room, Yugi shut the door and leaned against it, panting heavily as Atem chuckled beside him.

'You have so very…interesting friends Yugi.' The pharaoh laughed as Yugi finally caught his breath and took a seat on his bed.

'You should know that after hanging out with them for so long.' Yugi replied.

Atem only laughed, settling down next to his hikari on the fluffy mattress.

After a few moments of silence Atem finally asked 'So…why did Ishisu bring me back?"

Yugi looked over at the spirit. 'That's right he still doesn't know yet!' Opening his mouth to speak, he was suddenly cut off by a gust of wind.

"What's going on?!" Yugi cried, pulling his arm up to cover his eyes. The wind whipped hangings around his bed and pushed the curtains closed, plunging the room into darkness.

'Yami what just happened?!' Yugi asked through their mind link, starring blindly out into the shadows.

Suddenly a figure immerged from the shadows. He was tall with billowing robes and a large white turban. His skin was tanned and his bright blue eyes held the wisdom of an age long past. "Hello my Prince." The figure said, bowing deeply.

"Shadi?!" Yugi cried, confusion and fear emanating in his voice. Not that you could blame him. Anyone that knew Shadi knows that whenever he shows up something is wrong.

"Shadi what are you doing here?!" Yugi cried as the Egyptian spirit straitened.

"I am here to explain to the pharaoh why he has been resurrected." Shadi said, stepping closer.

Yugi felt a tugging sensation coming from the Millennium Puzzle. He closed his eyes and seceded control of his body to the pharaoh.

There was a flash of light and suddenly Atem stood where Yugi had been, his hikari appearing beside him in spirit form.

"Yes Shadi." He said in his deep baritone voice.

"My pharaoh." Shadi whispered bowing once more. "You have asked the prince why we have brought your spirit back from its eternal slumber, so I have come to explain."

Atem nodded and Shadi stood. He towered over the pharaoh and yet some how seemed much smaller compared to the ancient king. "You know that after you passed through the doors into the afterlife that your soul was not put to rest. That you remained, suspended between the present and the past. Well that is because not all the Millennium Items were sealed away which is what was needed for your soul to be put at rest.

"What?!" Atem spluttered his eyes going wide. "But the items were sealed away! That's why the door was able to open!"

"No my lord." Shadi said, shaking his head. "You needed to loose the ceremonial duel for the doors to open. For your spirit to be set free you needed all eight items to be sealed."

"Eight?! But there are only seven items and we sealed all of those away!" Atem cried, his voice lased with confusion.

"No my pharaoh. There was an eighth item, the Millennium Gem!" Shadi said. Then Shadi launched into the story of how and why Bakura created the eighth item and about the prophecy in the cavern Ishisu and Marik found.

Atem fell back on the bed as Shadi finished his story, digesting what he'd just been told. "So Yugi and I are the spoken of in the prophecy and it's our destiny to collect and destroy the final Millennium Item to protect the world from evil."

Shadi nodded. "You and your hikari are the rulers of light and shadow. Your spirits house the powers and you must use them and the Millennium Items to locate the Gem and defeat the new and old evils that have come to destroy the world. I have brought the Millennium Puzzle and the Millennium Necklace back to their original owners and hold the Millennium Key and Scales myself."

"But what about the Ring and the Rod?" Atem asked, noticing Shadi had left out those two particular items.

"I don't know." Shadi said sadly, head turned down. "When I arrived at the ruins of your tomb they were both gone." He stepped back into the shadows. "You must return back to the prince's homeland. I have a feeling that the items are close to his home. Till we meet again my pharaoh." And with that Shadi vanished.

* * *

"I really wish we could have stayed longer." Joey sighed leaning back in his desk, his feet on its surface.

"Yeah." Tristan said sadly, looking down disdainfully at his school uniform. "I hate being back in this place!"

They had arrived back in Domino yesterday afternoon. Atem had been too anxious by what Shadi had said to remain in Egypt much longer and had convinced Ishisu to give them a ride back to the states.

"Well I guess paradise can't last forever." Joey said mournfully, twiddling a pencil between his fingers. "Right Yug? Yug?"

Yugi was staring absentmindedly out a window, his thoughts with his grandfather back at the game shop.

"Yugi are you alright?" Tea asked, shaking him out of his revelry.

"Fine" Yugi said vaguely, not looking at her.

Atem appeared in spirit form beside his hikari and frowned. 'What's wrong Yugi?' he asked through their mind link.

Yugi sighed and faced the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh. 'Grandpa was attacking really weird when we came home yesterday. He wasn't himself. And he kept shooting me nervous looks when he thought I wasn't looking'

'I noticed it too.' Atem said his face downcast. 'What could've happened to him?'

'I don't know but…' Yugi thought trailed away as his eyes fixed on a person who had just entered the room.

'But what? Yugi? Are you listening to me?' Atem turned to the direction his hikari was facing and felt a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. There standing in the doorway was a very pretty girl with long dark brown hair that fell half-way down her back. She was short, about Yugi's height, with cinnamon colored skin and deep brown eye that sparkled with timid ness and innocents.

Atem raised his eye brows at the dreamy look his little look-alike was giving her and said jokingly 'Who's your little girlfriend?'

Yugi jumped and blushed scarlet as Atem began to howl with laughter. 'She's not my girlfriend!' he said indignantly. 'Her name in Jennifer Thompson. She moved here just after you left.'

'And I take it you like her?' Atem said smugly, making his hikari's blush deepen.

'Well…kind of…I mean…she's just so…' Yugi stammered his eyes following Jennifer as she moved took her seat, which was a few rows down from his own.

'Yugi's in loooove.' Atem said in a sing-song voice, poking his friend in the side.

Yugi blushed even deeper and shoved the spirit away from him. His action however caught Atem off guard and the pharaoh toppled off the desk. Yugi couldn't help it. He laughed out loud at the ridiculous sight of the once mighty pharaoh, lying on his back, his feet still on the desk. People were staring at him bewildered. Not that he cared, it really didn't matter to him whether they thought he was crazy for laughing at air or not. The spirit grumbled as he lifted himself off the ground and rubbed the back of his head.

'You are soooo gonna pay!' he cried, lunging at his hikari.

Yugi squeaked, but instead of trying to throttle him, Atem just disappeared into the puzzle. Yugi looked down, confused for a second, before he felt himself being pulled into the puzzle as Atem took control of his body. 'What are you doing?!' Yugi cried, appearing beside the pharaoh in spirit form.

Atem smirk and said. 'Getting revenge.' Suddenly he began walking across the room, towards a certain person's desk.

'No!!' Yugi shouted, but it was no use.

"Hi!" Atem said to Jennifer, who had her face buried in a book. The brunette looked up curiously at him. "I'm Yugi!"

"Jennifer." She said, holding out a hand, a slight blush that reminded the pharaoh irresistibly of Yugi creeping up her face.

Smirking Atem released control of the body, leaving a blinking and blushing Yugi in his place.

"Um…y-yeah." Yugi stammered, feeling his face get very hot. 'What am I supposed to do?!' he mentally screamed at the pharaoh.

'Ask her out!' came the gloating reply.

'I can't do that!' Yugi protested.

'Just ask her out. It's easy.' Atem replied.

'But I…'

'Do it!'

'No!'

"Yes!"

'No!'

"Yes!'

'Fine!"

"Will you go out with me?!" Yugi blurted out, inwardly cursing himself for sounding so stupid.

"Umm okay…" Jennifer said, blushing as deep as Yugi. "Here's my number." She said scribbling on a strip of paper and handing it to Yugi.

"I-I'll c-call you." Yugi said, taking the paper with trembling hands and blushing madly.

"Okay." Jennifer said, her face red, turning her attention back to her book and smiling slightly.

Yugi turned on his heal and practically ran back to his desk. 'I can't believe I actually did that!' Yugi inwardly groaned.

'Hey at least you got her number.' Atem replied smugly. 'That's revenge for pushing me off the desk.'

Yugi took his seat and cried through the mind link 'But I've never asked someone out before! I can't believe you made me do that!'

'Hey give me a break! Your love life needed a little help and I wasn't just going to sit back and watch, especially after that whole Tea phase you went through!' Atem joked.

Yugi just stared numbly down at the little piece of paper in his hands, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Attention class! Settle down now!" the teacher called from the front of the room. The students scurried hurriedly back to their seats and turned to face their professor. "Thank you. Now we have a new student joining us today." As she spoke a figure stepped into the room. He was tall and worn a trench coat over his school uniform. His long black hair fell over his eyes, casting his face into shadow.

"Introduce yourself dear." The teacher said warmly, looking at the new comer.

"He turned his head up to reveal a pair of cold black eyes. "Hello everyone." He said in an eerie voice. "I'm Derus."

* * *

YG- Well that's all for now! I love cliffhangers! Anyway remember to review!

Yami- Yes review or else dark energy building up in his fist

YG- I won't be able to update as much since school is starting tomorrow gag So check here Friday through Sunday for updates. I'll try and update my other story tomorrow after school as well!

Bakura- Now Review!! DO IT! Five more if you want to see the next chapter!

Yugi- Yeah YG won't be so nice next time!


	9. Chapter 9: The New Kid

* * *

A/N: -cheers- I GOT FIVE REVIEWS!! –throws a party- I know five reviews kind seems lame to some of you guys but it makes me feel really good about myself and my crumbing little fic! I would like to dedicate this chapter to Mirai-Vegeto, coymelody, gothabie283, and especially The Danvers Girls (you gave me the last two reviews I needed!!)! You all get free virtual Yugi cookies!! –hands out large cookies- Thank you so much for your reviews, you have given me new inspiration for my fic!

Disclaimer: YG- singing- I got five reviews hey! I got five reviews ha! I got five reviews yeah!!

Bakura- I don't think getting two reviews from the same person meets your goal, especially since they were both on different chapters!

YG- SHUT UP!! Who cares what you think!- hits Bakura with a frying pan- I never said it had to be on the same chapter! –takes a deep breath- This constitutes a celebration!

Yugi- Yeah party!!-disco ball drops down from the ceiling- I'm getting my groove on! –begins disco dancing-

Yami and Bakura- sweatdrop-

YG- hits a button on the wall and disco ball disappears-

Yugi- pouting- I wanna dance!!

YG- rolls eyes- We're not gonna dance, we're going to watch my favorite movie! Sweeny Todd!

Yami-cheers- I love that movie!

Bakura- Does it have blood…I like blood…

YG- Oh yeah lots and lots of blood!

Yugi- looking nervous- I think I'll just go read in my room…

YG- Too late! –grabs Yugi and pushes DVD into the video player in the same movement- I don't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh now leave me alone so I can watch my movie!

Bakura- Let the blood and gore begin!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 9: The New Kid

Bakura eyed the new comer suspiciously as he stood at the front of the room, dark hair concealing his features. The white haired thief sat back in the shadows, just incase one of his hikari's so called "friends" noticed something odd. He didn't enjoy being in this hell hole people called school, but it was the easiest and closest way to get to little Yugi without drawing suspicion.

He felt a warm, tingling sensation coming from a spot on his chest and glanced down to see that the Millennium Ring was glowing beneath his school jacket. Glancing around to make sure nobody was watching, Bakura reached beneath his shirt and pulled out the slightly vibrating Ring. The pointers around its edge automatically shot up, quivering as they faced the front of the room. Bakura's dark eyes followed the direction the pointers were facing until his gaze landed upon the new kid in the trench coat. The thief cocked an eyebrow as the boy took a seat against the far wall at the very back of the classroom. 'What the hell is up with my Ring?" he thought as it continued to point directly at the mysterious black haired teen.

He felt a slight stir at the back of his mind and smirked as his hikari struggled to make his thoughts known. "B-Bakura…" he practically wheezed, pushing with all his force again the binds his captor had put around his mind.

'Yes host?' Bakura leered, smirking again at his hikari's useless efforts.

'B-Bakura…w-what if h-e h-has…an I-Item.' Ryou gasped as he forced his thoughts to be heard.

'You don't think I thought of that?!' Bakura shouted at his struggling hikari, causing him to fall backwards within the confines of his mind.

It took a few more minutes of struggling for Ryou to reply. 'J-Just th-think a-about i-it. W-Why else w-would h-he be l-looking at Y-Yugi l-like that?'

Bakura turned and noticed that his hikari was indeed correct. The so called 'Derus' had his eyes fixed on the back of Yugi's tri-colored head, and his dark eyes seemed to glow with anticipation and anger. This puzzled the thief greatly. What would some new kid have against the midget? Besides himself, he didn't know anyone at the hell hole/school that thought badly of the mini pharaoh. Okay maybe Seto Kaiba but that was a completely different story.

'M-Maybe h-he has an i-item and w-wants Y-Yugi's P-Puzzle l-like y-you.' Bakura could since Ryou's fear for his friend as he said this, it made him smirk. But his hikari did have a point though, why else would his Ring be acting so weird?

'E-Exactly.' Ryou murmured before his strength gave out and he was forced back into the deepest corners of his mind.

Bakura tucked the ring back into his shirt as the teacher began the lesson. He sighed as she drowned on and on over something he didn't really give a damn about. He stiffened suddenly, as he felt a pair of eyes on him. The thief turned and his eyes locked with those of the dark haired boy in the corner. Brown and black starred determinately at each other, both refusing to look away. After a few moments, Derus chuckled under his breath and directed his attention back to the blackboard. 'Oh yeah, he knows something.' Bakura thought as he too looked away.

* * *

Atem watched as his hikari jotted down some notes about some thing that sounded vaguely like 'Want more food'.

'World War Two Yami!' Yugi said, after hearing his partner's thoughts. Atem just rolled his eyes and turned away from his hikari. 'You should be focusing on your work.' He retorted.

Yugi sent Atem a mental picture of him sticking his tongue out at the pharaoh. Atem laughed and leaned against the back of Yugi's chair, his eyes scanning the room.

He saw all of his hikari's friends, Tea scribbling down notes obediently, Tristan twirling his pen around his finger absentmindedly, Joey who had his head down against his desk and was snoring obnoxiously, and Ryou who was sitting at the back of the room with his face covered in shadow. Atem's eyes narrowed as he looked at Ryou, if that was really him. After all, Shadi had said that the Millennium Ring had been missing from his collapsed tomb, so who was say that Bakura hadn't already taken over his albino hikari's body again.

'We'll talk to him later and see if he's acting any differently.' Yugi stated through their link.

Atem nodded and when back to looking around the room. His eyes landed on the new kid in the trench coat at the back of the classroom. The pharaoh gasped as he noticed the dark eyed boy shooting his hikari frequent glances filled with hatred, not knowing that his action were being watched by an invisible spirit. What was the kid's problem? He turned and noticed that Ryou, or Bakura, was also watching the newcomer, however the pharaoh couldn't see exactly why, since his face was still half hidden by shadow.

'What's wrong Yami?' Yugi asked, feeling his yami's confusion and worry as it passed through their link.

'Nothing.' Atem replied, quickly shielding his emotions from his hikari, after all he didn't want Yugi to get anxious.

'Alright.' Yugi said, sounding completely unconvinced as he turned back to his note taking.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class period. Joey jumped, fell out of his chair and was nearly trampled by the hoard of students that was practically sprinting out of the room. Yugi laughed and began picking up his things as Joey grumbled and picked himself up off the ground. 'Next is lunch!' Yugi said cheerily to the pharaoh as he stuffed the rest of his books into his bag. Tea, Tristan and the still grumbling Joey walked over to him, each of them carrying their school things. "Ya ready for lunch Yug!" Joey said, while rubbing the back of his head.

Bakura watched as the 'dork four' began a discussion about what they'd be serving in the cafeteria today. He needed to stay close to the puzzle! He growled slightly. Sure he could act like his hikari, but he'd never really mastered his innocent eyes look. 'RYOU!' he mentally shouted at his host.

'Y-Yes' came the feeble reply.

'I'm going to let you take over so that we can stay close to the mini pharaoh.'

He could feel Ryou's hopefulness seep through their link and scowled. 'Don't get any idea's host' he growled. 'I'll hear and see everything you do and they'll be…consequences… if you let anything slip.' The thief could practically see Ryou gulp and grinned evilly as he ceded control of the body to his feeble hikari.

Ryou blinked and looked around taking in the classroom and his friends who were now exiting through the front door. Taking a deep breath the white haired teen stood up and called "Hey wait guys!" while running over to the four retreating teens.

Yugi, Joey Tristan and Tea all turned to face him as Ryou finally caught up to their group. "Hey Bakura!" Joey said, grabbing his albino friend around the neck and nuggieing the top of his messy head.

Ryou laughed and pulled away from the blonde. "Hey Joey, but please call me Ryou. I think we've known each other long enough to drop the formalities." He smiled and turned to face the rest of the group. Tea and Tristan were smiling warmly back at him, but Yugi seemed to be contemplating Ryou quite seriously.

'Shit!" he heard Bakura swear through their link. 'That baka pharaoh must be suspicious. You better not give us away host!'

Ryou felt awash with guilt at having to deceive his friends once again, but tried to keep a strait face. If Bakura actually tried to hurt Yugi or the rest then he'd put up a damn good fight this time.

'Yeah, like that would do anything host.' He heard Bakura cackle.

"I was wondering if I could sit with you guys at lunch today. I mean you were gone all weekend so I didn't really get to see any of you." Ryou said meekly, surprised at how genuine it sounded.

"Sure buddy, you're always welcome to sit with us." Joey said. Tristan and Tea nodded in agreement and Yugi seemed to have over come the pharaoh and smiled at him as well.

"Great let's go eat!" Tristan yelled, practically running out of the room quickly followed by Joey and a nagging Tea. Yugi and Ryou just looked at each other and laughed nervously before dashing out after them.

* * *

"And that's how our weekend went." Yugi said as he, Ryou, Tristan, and Tea took their seats at a vacant lunch table.

"Yeah and man the Ishtars are loaded!" Joey cried, before digging into his tray of food. Tristan soon joined him, leaving Tea to grumble about table manners under her breath.

"Wow, so the pharaoh's back, well I guess I should have figured that out since you're wearing the Millennium Puzzle again." Ryou said, pointing down at Yugi's chest where the golden artifact lay.

"Yeah." Yugi sighed contentedly, fingering the edges of the puzzle affectionately. "And I can't tell you how great it is to have him back." Beside his hikari the pharaoh smiled warmly.

'Gag me.' Ryou heard Bakura scoff.

"So Yug." Joey said, turning to face his spiky haired friend while swallowing a large mouthful of food. "Who was that girl you were talking to this morning in class?" the blonde said, elbowing him in the ribs and winking. Yugi flushed furiously and stuttered, "Ummm…well…she's…ummm…"

"Yes?" Tea said through gritted teeth, turning to face Yugi stiffly. "Who is this _lovely _girl?"

"Ummm…." Yugi's reply was cut short as a shadow fell across the table. "Can I sit here, everywhere else is full?"

Everyone turned to see a black haired boy with dark eyes and a trench coat over his school uniform. He carried a tray piled with food and the cold look that seemed to have flared in his eyes in the classroom was gone, replaced by an almost timid glow.

'Yugi I don't trust this guy.' The pharaoh said urgently through their link.

'Oh come on Yami he just wants a place to sit. Don't be so quick to judge.' Yugi said, waving his friends concern away.

"Sure you can sit here!" The spiky haired teen said brightly pointing to an open seat across from Ryou. Said teen was now eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.

"It's Derus right?" Tea asked curiously.

"Yeah." Derus replied, nodding and taking his seat.

"We were just talking about how Yugi's go a new girlfriend." Joey said brightly, throwing an arm around his now scarlet faced friends shoulders. "Joey she's not my…"

The conversation drowned on, neither Ryou nor Atem paying it much attention. Both were in fact still scrutinizing Derus, whose head was bowed over his plate of food, not talking much either.

'I wonder why he's acting so different from the way he was this morning.' Ryou wondered.

'He obviously doesn't want the midget to get suspicious about whatever the heck he's planning!' Bakura shouted back at him.

'But just _what _is he planning?' Ryou asked.

'I don't know host but it definitely has something to do with Yugi and his Puzzle and I'm not going to let him beat me to the punch!'

Atem, who was watching Derus closely as well asked Yugi 'Why is he acting differently?'

'What do you mean?' Yugi asked, turning to face Derus who was still bent over his plate of food.

'Well, don't you remember? This morning when he came to class he was acting totally different then he is now! He was cold, callous and his eyes were full of hatred.'

'I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Derus seems like an alright guy. You just need to stop being so overly critical about everything.' Yugi replied airily, elbowing the pharaoh lightly in the ribs.

Atem sighed and turned away from his hikari who had become engaged in a conversation with Joey about Kiaba's new Duel Monsters tournament.

* * *

Yugi slammed his locker door and turned towards Joey, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Hey Joe!" the short teen said brightly as Tristan, Tea and Ryou came walking up the hallway. "Do you guys want to come over to the Game Shop? Grandpa just got a new shipment of Duel Monsters cards!" Yugi said brightly to his friends. Joey, Tristan and Tea all nodded and, after getting confirmation from his yami, Ryou nodded as well.

The five friends headed down the hallway, chatting merrily about their day. Ryou didn't say much as Bakura continued to insult his friends from inside the comfort of his hikari's brain. 'That blonde is the most idiotic piece of shit I've ever seen. That friendship bitch has a nice ass but sounds like a broken freaken record, I swear she say's friendship a least five times a sentence. And that brunette has a fricken horn sticking out of the front of his head!' Bakura cackled as Ryou winced.

'Please stop insulting my friends, Bakura.'

'Why should I host? It's fun!'

Ryou sighed as his yami continued off on his insulting tyrant, whispering "why me" under his breath.

Yugi and the others reached the front of the school when Yugi noticed a lone figure walking down the side walk, head bowed and eyes downcast. He felt sympathy well up in his chest and before Atem could stop him cried out "Hey Derus!" The dark haired boy looked up to see Yugi running towards him.

"Hi Yugi." He said, smiling sadly. " H-hey D-Derus." Yugi panted once he reached him. "Y-You …want to …come over… to my house?" he asked.

"Umm… okay…" the black eyed boy blushed slightly and Yugi grinned 'Yugi why did you do that?!" Atem practically screamed as the other four caught up to them.

'Cause Derus is new and doesn't have any friends. I know exactly how he feels and I'm trying to be nice and help!' Yugi said angrily back to him. 'Stop being so judgmental about him! Can't you see he's sad?!'

Atem sighed and disappeared into the puzzle as the six teenagers started towards Yugi's house. Ryou and Bakura watched as Derus trudged along beside Yugi, answering quietly whenever the small boy asked him a question.

* * *

They finally reached the Game Shop. Yugi pushed open the door and yelled "Grandpa I'm home!!" There was a shuffling sound from behind the counter and Yugi's Grandfather stood up holding a box full of Capsule Monsters pods. "Hey Yugi!" he said cheerily, placing the box on the counter. "How was your…" his voice trailed away as his eyes landed on Derus. A bead of cold sweat ran down the side of his face as his violet eyes locked with Derus's black ones. Unseen by any of his companions, Derus shot Solomon a cruel, twisted smile.

"Grandpa are you okay?" Yugi asked, walking over to his grandfather's side and tilting his head confusedly. Derus shot Solomon a warning glance and the shop keeper gulped, turning to face his grandson. "E-Everything's f-fine." He shuttered, inwardly cursing himself for not being able to keep his voice strait. "Are you sure?" Yugi asked, still concerned. "Yes everything is fine." Solomon said, forcing a smile. "Why don't you and your friends go check out the new shipment of cards I just got? There up on a shelf in the back room." "Alright." Yugi smiled and turned to face his friends. "This way." He said, motioning for them to follow.

Derus bent down and called "Got to tie me shoe!" to Yugi and his friend's retreating backs. Yugi turned, nodded and said "Okay, just meet us back here when you're done." before following the rest of his friends out.

Once Yugi had left the room, Derus stood and face the old shop keeper his eyes gleaming with cold maliciousness. "Hello Solomon, long time no see?" Solomon gulped and backed away against the far counter. "Leave my grandson and his friends alone Derus." He said, trying to make his voice sound fierce and failing miserably.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Solomon." Derus said, shaking his head sarcastically and stepping nearer. "You see little Yugi has something I want and I'm determined to get it from him." A cruel smile twisted his features.

"I'll st-stop y-you." The old man said, his back now pressing painfully into the counter top.

"No." Derus said simply, pulling something that shone, golden in the light. "I don't think you will, in fact I don't think you'll be doing anything that I don't want you too for a long time."

* * *

YG- Well that's the chapter hope you liked it!! R&R or I'll lock you in a room with a hungry Bakura. Trust me it doesn't get any worse than that.

Yami- Five more for the next chapter.

YG- nods- Anyway how did you guys like my movie!

Bakura- It was awesomely gory but that damn singing stuff totally ruined it!

YG and Yami- What do you meant?! The singings the best part!-begin singing- There's a hole in the world like a great black pit….

Yugi- STOP!-huddled in a dark corner- I'll never see a razor blade the same way ever again.

YG and Yami- switch songs- Nothings gonna harm you, not while I'm around.

Bakura- If you two don't shut the hell up I'm going to take that DVD and shove it up your asses!

YG and Yami- look nervously at each other- There's no place like London?

Bakura- That's it!-pulls out DVD- Get over here

YG and Yami- Eeep!!-run away-

Yugi- says in empty voice- Please review so that I do not remained scared for life by this depressing movie.


	10. Chapter 10: First Date

A/N: Okay I got five reviews last chapter!! –throws yet another party-I'm thinking about dropping the whole five reviews rule, however, because when I don't reach my goal it makes me feel really bad! -sniffle -Anyway this chapter is dedicated to those of you who did review! Coymelody, disneytiger, gothabie283, and Mirai-Vegeto you all get ten million virtual dollars! That's right! Dance in your nonexistent money!

Disclaimer: YG- I got five reviews!! –dances around excitedly-

Yugi- Calm down YG! Take deep breaths. In and out.

YG- nods – Sorry Yugi, It's just that every review I get makes me want to skip around like a five year old on a sugar high.

Bakura-cackles- There are people out there who ask for at least twenty reviews each chapter, and this pathetic author only got five! And two of them were from the same person!

Yugi- glares- Take that back Bakura! –begins beating Tomb robber senseless with a frying pan-

Bakura-Okay Okay I take it back! Stop hitting me!!

Yami and YG- Laughing hysterically

Yami- Wow Yugi! That was kinda cool!

Yugi- Thank you!-bows while Yami an YG applaud energetically-

YG- You guys have given me new life!-hugs Yami and Yugi- I was most likely going to update today anyway, even if I didn't get five reviews! I mean I got four days off school for the hurricane so what else was I supposed to do!

Yugi and Yami- gasp- You were in a hurricane!

YG-shrugs- Yeah, it wasn't that bad in my area though. A few downed trees, nothing too serious.

Bakura-Shit! Stupid storm couldn't even make something fall on you! What a waist!

YG-glares- Bakura, sometimes you can be such a dick you know that!

Bakura- Why thank you! I try hard to be so!

YG- knocks Bakura out with Yugi's frying pan- Anyway, I don't own any of the character or ideas of Yugioh. Just my OCs and the plot.

Yugi- leaning over Bakura- Should we help him?

Yami- Nah, just leave him there. He'll wake up eventually.

Yugi- But…

Yami and YG- Onto the fic!!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 10: First Date

Derus smirked as he watched the old man's violet eyes cloud over and turn pitch black. "That was almost too easy." He cackled, stuffing the golden object back into his trench coat. "Now." He said, turning his attention towards his puppet. "Stay here in the shop and act as if nothing has just happened."

"Yes master." Solomon said stiffly, before turning and walking robotically back behind the counter.

Derus smirked again, his black eyes sparkling, before pushing past the old man and striding into the back room.

The moment he entered he spotted Yugi and his group of idiot friends, sitting in a circle on the floor, a box of brand new Duel Monsters cards lying open in front of the amethyst eyed teen.

"Oh! There you are Derus!" Yugi said brightly, turning away from the card in his hand and smiling widely at him.

The black haired teen smiled innocently back, the malicious spark in his eyes from a moment before dieing away to be replaced by a shy and timid expression. "Hey." He said meekly, taking a seat next to the browned eyed albino who was eyeing him with suspicion.

"Good thing you're here. We just found this awesome card."

Derus took the card in Yugi's outstretched hand and turned his face downward, so it appeared that he was examining it closely. A smirk crossed his face, unseen by his fellow teens, as he glazed down at the card, not really seeing it. 'Very soon Yugi.' He thought, the cruel spark returning to his eyes, 'Very soon your power will be mine.'

* * *

Yugi gazed down at the phone, apprehension and nerves keeping him rooted to the spot. 'Just do it. Yugi' he told himself. 'Just pick up the phone and dial the number, it's not that difficult!' he sighed, running a shaking hand nervously through his spiky locks.

Atem paced agitatedly beside his restless hikari. 'Come Yugi!' he cried exasperatedly. 'You've been standing here for almost an hour! You can do it! Just call her!'

Yugi just gulped and shook his head vigorously, eyes wide in terror as he stared at the corded telephone. Atem sighed, halting his pacing, and placed a comforting hand on the small teens shoulder. 'Come on Yugi.' He said softly, but encouragingly. 'You can do this.' The small teen reached a trembling hand outwards and picked up the phone, heart hammering a fierce beat within his chest. He brought the phone to his ear and placed a shaky finger on one of the buttons. Atem smiled in satisfaction as he heard harsh beep, meaning Yugi had pressed in the first digit. 'Come on!' the pharaoh chanted, as though he were watching a hitter at a baseball game before the pitch is thrown. 'You can do this Yugi! Come on!' he practically yelled as his light pushed the next eight buttons with trembling fingers. 'Come on you can-' but the monarch was cut short as his hikari slammed the phone back down on the base and retreated to the far wall.

Atem groaned and walked over to where Yugi was stood, shaking his head like a dog trying to dislodge water from its coat. "I can't do it!' the small teen cried eyes shut tightly. "I can't…"

Atem just shook his head, an idea forming in the corners of his mind. Yugi would call the girl he just needed a little… persuasion. 'Fine.' The spirit said, watching as Yugi opened his eyes to stare curiously up at him. 'If you're not going to do it then I will.'

Yugi gasped he felt, for the second time that day, the forceful tugging sensation that dragged him out of his body as the pharaoh took control. 'Yami!' he cried as the spirit smirked and walked briskly over to the abandoned phone. 'Yugi, I promised I would help you with your love life, and I intend to stay true to that promise.' The pharaoh said in a mocking tone as he picked up the phone and began to dial. 'No, Yami please!' Yugi cried as Atem finished dialing and the phone began to ring. 'Please Yami! I'll do it ! I'll do it!'

'Alright.' The pharaoh said quickly, retreating back to the puzzle just as a feminine voice on the other end of the line said "Hello? This is the Thompson residence, how may I help you?"

"U-um y-yeah. I-Is J-Jennifer th-there?" Yugi stuttered, unable to keep his nervousness out of his voice. Atem chuckled and his hikari shot him a disgruntled look before turning his attention back to his conversation.

"Why yes she is and who may I ask is calling?" the woman politely replied.

"Y-Yugi M-Motou. I-I'm a fr-friend of J-Jennifer's fr-from sc-school." The young teen said, trying desperately not to drop the phone as his hand began to shake violently.

"Oh!" Yugi could almost see the sly smile spreading across the woman's face. "A friend you say? Alright, just hold on a minute." Yugi could faintly hear the woman call "Jennifer phone!" There as a scuffling noise and voice that sent butterflies to Yugi's stomach asked "Who is it?" "A friend of yours from school." The woman said as a shuffling sound indicated that she'd passed the phone Jennifer. "He says his name is Yugi."

Said teen heard a nervous squeak and a loud 'thunk' that sounded like the girl had just dropped the phone. Yugi could hear the woman's laughter in the background as there was more shuffling and finally a timid voice asked "Hello?" Yugi felt heat leap into his face. "H-Hi." He stuttered, inwardly cursing himself once more.

"Hey Yugi." Jennifer said back, Yugi could imagine the cute blush that now painted her cheeks crimson. "Hold on a sec." she said before more shuffling and the sound of a door closing. "That's better. Now I can actually hear you." She giggled making Yugi's stomach squirm. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"U-Um I-I was w-wondering if if…" Yugi stuttered

"If…?" she inquired

"Ifyouwantedtohangoutwithmeafterschooltomorrow." Yugi said in a rush, the word jumbling together in an indiscernible mess.

"Huh?" was the reply from the other end of the line.

Yugi took a deep breath and said very slowly so as not to fumble the words again "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me after school tomorrow."

"Oh!" Jennifer squeaked and once again Yugi could tell that her cheeks were flushed scarlet. "Okay…" she said quickly and enthusiastically.

"Well then I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Yugi said, his response sounding more like a question.

"Yeah. Can't wait! Bye!" came the exuberant reply before the line went dead at the other end.

Yugi stood there for a few moments, completely numb, before a bubbling sensation started to form in the pit of his stomach. "She said yes." He whispered to Atem eyes fixed ahead of him.

"Yeah Yugi that's…"

Atem was cut short as Yugi let out an elated cry "She said yes! She said yes! She said yes!!" he shouted, jumping up and down and throwing the phone in the air.

"Ow!" Atem screeched as the phone fell on top of his head. "Yugi calm down!" he shouted at his jubilant hikari who was, at that very moment, doing a little jig and singing "She said yes! She said yes! She said yes!"

"Sorry Yami." The smaller boy said brightly, the wide smile never leaving his face as he picked up the discarded phone and placed it back on the receiver. He turned back to his darker half, eyes sparkling with glee. "Oh Yami this is so great! I'm going to have my first ever date tomorrow!" the amethyst eyed boy practically squealed.

He hugged his yami around the middle before charging upstairs to his bedroom shouting "What am I going to wear?!"

Atem just shook his translucent head a chuckle escaping his lips. 'Sometimes Yugi can be such a girl.' He thought to himself.

"I heard that!" Yugi's muffled voice called from upstairs.

* * *

Yugi tapped his pencil on his desk, violet eyes shooting to the clock every five seconds. School would be over in another five minutes. He gulped at the thought of what awaited him when the hour hand struck three. The spiky haired teen fingered the bracelets around his wrists nervously. He and Atem had spent nearly an hour that morning in front of the mirror, trying on different accessories. (A/N: He has to wear a school uniform so he can't really try on different outfits.) He hoped he didn't look too out there with a neck belt, leather arm bands and thick black bracelets on both wrists. Atem had said he looked awesome but you couldn't really trust someone whose fashion sense applied to clothing worn three thousand years ago.

'Calm down Yugi. You look great and everything is going to be fine.' Atem said through their mind link, appearing beside his hikari in spirit form. The younger just smiled nervously and continued to fiddle with his bracelets, eyes darting quickly to the clock before returning to his wrists.

* * *

Finally, after a few more minutes of the teacher's pointless sermon, the bell rang, jolting the students from their stupors and sending them stampeding towards the exit.

Yugi stood up shakily, his knees knocking together, and began to pile his books into his back pack. Tea, Tristan and Joey strode over to his table all talking merrily. "Hey Yug!" the blonde said ruffling his short friends tri-colored locks. "You wanna come to the arcade with us? They got this new game I've been dieing to try!"

"Sorry Joey." Yugi said, swinging his bag over his shoulder and casting his friend an apologetic look. "But I uh…kinda already have plans." As he said this a short girl with long dark brown hair and bright brown eyes strode over to them, a nervous smile on her tanned face.

"Oh." Joey said slyly, glancing at Jennifer and nudging his friend in the side. "Nice one Yug." He said so quietly that only the two of them could hear. Yugi blushed scarlet and his blonde friend winked. "So Yug, you gonna introduce us to your little friend?" Joey asked playfully.

"Uh…yeah…" Yugi laughed nervously. "Jennifer this Joey, Tristan and Tea." The small boy said, gesturing to each of his friends in turn. "Guys this is Jennifer."

"Nice to meet you." The brunette said warmly, a kind smile spreading across her face.

"Yes it is so _very _nice to meet you." Tea said through gritted teeth, smiling stiffly and shooting Jennifer a rather cold look.

The shorter, however, didn't seem to notice the blue eyed teen's frosty attitude and turned to Yugi. "You ready? You don't have to go to your locker or anything right?"

"No, I'm ready to go." Yugi replied.

"Great! Again, it was nice meeting you guys!" she said, taking Yugi's hand and causing a blush to creep up into his cheeks. Tea glared down at their interlocked fingers as the pair began walking towards the classroom door.

"You kids have fun now!" Tristan called to their retreating backs.

"Yeah and remember to use protection!" Joey yelled.

Yugi frozen, cheeks bright red. "Hold on one second." He told Jennifer, before turning around and lifting a book off a near by table. "Shut up Joey!" He yelled throwing the book at his unsuspecting friend's head.

* * *

"So where do you want do go?" Jennifer asked as they exited the school building.

Yugi shrugged, a nervous sensation playing in the pit of his stomach now that they were alone. 'That's right Yugi.' He inwardly groaned. 'Ask a girl on a date and have no place to take her, real smooth.'

'Take her out to eat.' Atem suggested from within in the confines of the puzzle. He and Yugi had agreed that there would be no more random mind switches today and that the pharaoh would keep to himself unless needed.

'Thanks Yami.' Yugi replied, before turning his attention back to the girl before him.

"Why don't we go eat?" he asked. "I know the perfect little burger joint we can go to!"

"Okay." She said brightly, taking his hand and causing him to flush once more. "Lead the way."

The two walked in total silence both rather embarrassed about the fact that they were still holding hands to try and brake the awkward stillness.

Finally Yugi spotted the familiar "burger-man" mascot of his favorite restaurant. "Here we are, Burger World." He said, leading Jennifer over to the entrance. They were greeted by laughter, loud voices and the smell of grease sizzling on a grill as they entered the establishment. A hostess wearing a rather revealing uniform led them over to an unoccupied table. "Your server will be with you shortly." The woman said, placing two menus on the table before returning to her post by the door.

The two sat in silence and Yugi fiddled nervously with the hem of his jacket. He glanced quickly over to the other side of the table and saw Jennifer was scanning her menu thoroughly. He lifted his own up to his face and scanned the column without actually seeing any of its contents.

'Say something!' Atem shouted at him from within his soul room.

'What?!' Yugi cried desperately back.

'I don't know! Just say something! The silence is killing you both!' The spirit replied before sinking further into the depths of the puzzle.

Yugi placed his menu down and gulped noticing that Jennifer was watching him intently. "Ummm…" but he was saved from trying to start a conversation by the arrival of their waitress.

"Hi, welcome to Burger World may I…YUGI?!" she cried, almost dropping her notepad as she turned to look at him. It didn't take the small teen long to recognize her. Long red hair, warm honey brown eyes… "Serenity!" Yugi cried as Joey's sister smiled down at him. "I haven't seen you since the Battle City Tournament! What are you doing here?!" he yelled, jumping up and embracing his old friend. The red head smiled down at the small teen, as he released his hold on her waist and took his seat in the booth.

"My mom and I moved back into town and I thought I'd get a job to help with things around the house." She replied warmly. "It's good to see you again! And who's your friend?" she asked, turning to face Jennifer who was watching the scene before her in total confusion.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Yugi said smacking himself hard on the forehead. "Serenity this is Jennifer. Jennifer, you remember Joey right? Well this is his sister Serenity." The two smiled at each other and shook hands.

"Nice to meet you." The red head said kindly. "Nice one Yugi. She seems really nice." Serenity whispered in the young duelist's ear, causing him to flush scarlet. She straitened, winking at the blushing teen and said "Anyway, what do you guys want to order?"

"A number one, ketchup only, with a Dr. Pepper." The two teens said in unison. Both blushed and Serenity giggled, scribbling the information down on her notepad. "Anything else?" she asked.

Both shook their head and Serenity smiled. "Okay you guys. It'll be out in a jiff!" she called, brown eyes sparkling as she turned on her heel and headed towards the kitchen.

"She seems nice." Jennifer muttered after another moment of awkward silence.

"Yeah, she was a real inspiration to her brother whenever he dueled. She helped him become a better person. They're parents are divorced, but they're still really close." Yugi replied.

Jennifer nodded and the two sat quietly until Serenity returned with a tray full of food. "Here you go!" she said cheerily, setting there meals out in front of them. If you need anything else just call okay?" she smiled once more before moving to a different table to take some new comer's order.

Yugi unwrapped the burger and sighed as the delicious scent of fried food reached his nostrils. Lifting the rather large sandwich in his hands, Yugi sunk his teeth into the delicacy and gagged. "What's wrong?" Jennifer asked as Yugi spat the substance into a napkin and wiped his mouth. "They forgot the ketchup only part of the order!" he groaned, lifting the top bun of his burger to reveal the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and mustard below. "Gross!" he cried, picking the offending substances off of his sandwich.

Jennifer inspected her own burger and groaned as well. "They did it to mine too!" she sighed, peeling a tomato from the top of her patty. "Gosh I can't stand this stuff!" she grumbled as she pulled a piece of lettuce from the sandwich. "I mean it tastes good on salad but when you put it on a cheeseburger…" she motioned throwing up and Yugi laughed.

"I know!" he cried. "And I can't stand mustard on a burger either. It makes it taste all gross and sour!"

"Totally!" she giggled. "And pickles." She said disgustedly, holding one out in front of her with two finger and pinching her nose. "I can't stand the smell of them!"

"Me either!" Yugi laughed.

The nervous atmosphere from before melted away, as the two teens joked over their mutual dislike of burger toppings and certain yellow colored condiments.

* * *

Serenity returned a while later to find the Jennifer laughing her head off as Yugi placed two pickles over his eyes and said "I am the great and powerful pickle lord! All shall fear me! Fear me I say!" One of the pickles slid down his face and fell into his t-shirt, causing the small teen to squeak and start shaking his shirt in a desperate attempt to get it out. Jennifer and Serenity fell over laughing as he practically lifted his shirt over his head and discovered the pickle was suck in the middle of his chest. He peeled it off and slipped the shirt back on. "It's not funny!" he glared at the two howling teens. "Oh but it so is!" Jennifer cried, wiping her eyes and gasping for air. "Hears your bill." Serenity said between fits of giggles, clutching her sides as she slid a black book onto the table.

Yugi looked at the tab before pulling out his wallet and placing some money inside the book. He handed it back to Serenity who had recovered enough by now to say "Thanks, see you later." Before breaking out into more fits of laugher and walking away from the table.

Yugi growled and Jennifer giggled. "Come on." She said, taking his hand and pulling him out of the booth. "Let's go to the park."

* * *

The second walk was much more pleasant than the previous one. Yugi and Jennifer joked some more about the burger toppings and their science teacher's annoying voice.

"I swear every time he speaks it sounds like chipmunk on helium." Jennifer giggled as the two took a seat on a park bench.

Yugi laughed, and settled back against the worn wood. The two sat in peaceful silence, watching the ducks float along the rippling pond surface and listening to the laughter of small children as the played a game of catch in a near by field.

Yugi let his arm settle around the back of the bench and sighed, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh smelling air, tinted with lavender from Jennifer's shampoo.

The spiky haired teen started when he felt the figure next to shifted slightly. Opening his eyes he noticed that Jennifer was watching him intensely, brown eyes reflecting the suns golden rays. She blushed when she realized his eyes were now open. "Sorry." She murmured, turning away, only to be stopped by Yugi's hand on her wrist.

The young teen's heart rate intensified as their glazes locked. Pale Amethyst and sparkling brown boar down on each other, before both closed their eyes and leaned forward…

"YUGI!"

The two jumped back as a familiar blonde came running over to them. "Hey Yug! Hey Jennifer" he said brightly, unaware of the cold looks both teens were shooting him for having ruined the moment. "Your gramps is looking for you; he said you need to come home now." The blonde stated, turning to face his short friend.

Yugi's spirits fell and he looked sorrowfully over at Jennifer's disheartened face. "I have to go." He murmured, standing up. "I'll see you later?"

She nodded and settled back against the bench, eyes downcast. "Come on Yug!" Joey said, turning on his heel and marching over to a parked car were Tristan and Tea were waiting.

The amethyst eyed teen cast the brown haired girl a longing glance before hurrying off after his friend.

* * *

YG: Well that was chapter ten! I didn't leave a cliffie this time.-looks at story sadly- Anyway…Please review!!

Yugi- God, why couldn't Joey have just let me have my kiss!!

YG: Because I'm mean and made him pop in at the worst possible moment.

Yugi-glares at the ground-I got all my hopes up for nothing.

YG: I can make it up to you!-pulls out cell phone and dials- Hey! Yeah, can you come over? Great! Bye!-hangs up-

Yami-Who was that?

YG: You'll see.

Jennifer-enters the room looking like a shorter version of a super model – Hey guys!

Yami and Yugi-drool- So…pretty…

YG-giggles- Told you she was gorgeous.

Bakura-wakes up- Ow my head! That stupid author is soo gonna pay!-sees Jennifer- So…pretty-faints again-

YG and Jennifer- look at each other with raised eye brows-

Jennifer- Yeah… um…anyway…Review!

YG- Yes! Review! Do it while I pour some water on these hormonal teenagers!


	11. Chapter 11: Invitation

A/N: Oh my GOD!! I got seven reviews in two days!! jumps up and down I'm so happy! I seriously got up and started dancing around like an idiot whenever I read what you guys wrote!! (Thank God no one was there to see me! XD) And thanks to the awesome response my last chapter got I'm going to update! (See the faster I get reviews the faster I update!) This new chapter is dedicated to all those who reviewed! Mirai-Vegeto, gothabie283, MysticalElfGirl, wardragonmon, coymelody, and The Danvers Girls! You guys make me wake up with a smile on my face.

Disclaimer: YG- I got seven reviews that's the most I've ever gotten for one chapter and the fastest I've ever gotten them!! cheers and begins dancing like a child on sugar

Yami- YG! YG! Calm down!

Bakura- Seriously you pathetic mortal! You're dancing over the fact that a couple of people you will never meet for the rest of your life said something remotely nice about your crappy story!

Yugi- glares- Way to bring her down Bakura!-hugs the now sobbing YG- It's okay…

YG-sobs- But he's right! My story's pathetic compared to all those other ones! I can't even get more than ten reviews per chapter!

Yugi- Yeah, but you did get seven and for your first fic, it's done really well! Besides remember what wardragonmon said "This is the best Yugioh fic I've ever read!"

YG-Thanks Yugi –hugs- You always know how to raise my spirits!

Bakura- Oh Gods kill me now…

Yami- Thanks for the invitation tomb robber! tackles Bakura

Bakura- Get off me you baka pharaoh!

YG and Yugi- rolling around on the floor laughing-

YG-wiping tears from her eyes- I don't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh! Just my OCs and the plot!-turns to the wrestling yamis- Get him pharaoh! Kick his limey butt!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 11: Invitation

Yugi sighed, leaning back in his chair and letting his eyes drift around the crowded classroom. The teacher had yet to arrive so, as always, the students were in an uproar, talking, laughing, throwing paper airplanes and knocking desks around. The amethyst eyed teen giggled as a pair of angry students began tussling on the floor, arguing over something that sounded remotely like "It was my candy bar!"

Just then a hand settled on his shoulder and he turned to see a familiar blonde boy standing behind him. "Hey Yug!" Joey said brightly, settling down in the seat next to him and turning the desk so as to face his spiky haired friend. "Oh...hello Joey." Yugi said coolly, eyes narrowed. He still hadn't completely forgiven the blonde for interrupting his first kiss.

"Oh come on Yugi I said I was sorry!" Joey cried exasperatedly, noticing Yugi's frosty tone. "How was I supposed to know you guys were gonna kiss!"

Yugi rolled his eyes and turned away from the blonde. He'd explained the situation to the brown eyed boy when they'd settled down inside Tristan's car and of course Joey had tried to make amends, but the damage was already done. 'How the heck am I supposed to talk to Jennifer now?' he inwardly grumbled as Tristan and Tea joined their group. "Hey Yugi!" they both said brightly, taking the two other available seats by the boy.

Yugi just nodded sullenly back at them and turned to face the window. Tristan chuckled. "Still angry at Joey then huh?" the brunette laughed.

Yugi nodded, still looking out the window. "Oh come on Yugi." Tea said, placing a comforting arm around his shoulders and smiling slightly. "It's not Joey's fault. And he said he's sorry." The blue eyed girl looked imploringly down at her childhood friend as he let out a sigh and turned to face Joey.

"You're right." Yugi mumbled, hearing the truth in Tea's words. The brunette smiled. "It's okay Joey I forgive you." The blonde's face split into an ear to ear grin as he nuggied his short friend's spiky locks. "You just couldn't stay mad at me!" he laughed as Yugi gasped "Joey! I…need…air…"

The taller chuckled and released his choke hold on Yugi's throat. Massaging his throbbing neck, Yugi looked up and immediately noticed a pair of bright brown eyes starring down at him. "Hey Yugi." Jennifer said quietly, a blush spreading across her cheeks as the entire group turned to face her.

"Hey Jennifer." Yugi said back, a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth. She looked just as beautiful as ever. Long brown hair shinning in the light from the window, tanned skin glimmering softly and dark brown eyes reflecting the golden glow of the morning sun. He hear Atem chuckle as he read his thoughts and blushed scarlet. 'I didn't know you admired her that much.' The pharaoh laughed. Yugi just shot the monarch a mental image of himself beating the spirit with his textbook. Atem just chuckled before retreating back to his soul room.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" a voice asked, startling Yugi out of his inner discussion. "Sure." Yugi replied, trying to stand and realizing that Tea's arm still lay draped around his shoulders in an almost possessive manner. He shook the limb off, not noticing the distraught look the blue eyed girl gave him and followed Jennifer out of the room.

The classroom door closed behind them with a click and Jennifer kept walking, not turning when Yugi asked her where they were going. Only a few stragglers, running late or ditching class remained in the deserted halls. After about a minute or two of walking Jennifer suddenly spun around.

The two teens just stood there in silence for a moment before Yugi finally said "Look, Jennifer, about yesterday…" he was cut short as Jennifer pressed her lips to his own. The amethyst eyes widened as he realized what was going on, before drooping shut as Yugi melted into the kiss. It over far faster then the young duelist would have preferred, and as Jennifer pulled away he pouted causing the brunette to giggle. "We're going to be late for class." She laughed, taking his hand and leading him back down the hallway.

* * *

"And then I was all like 'Fuck off Kiaba!' and then he was all like 'Screw you mutt. ' And then I was all up in his face and was like 'If you call me mutt one time I'll kick your sorry ass.' And then he was all like 'Try it mutt!' I then busted out my karate skills and broke his nose and he was all like 'Ouch!' and I was like 'Told you.' And that's what happened." Joey finished smiling smugly at the skeptical looks his friends were giving him.

"Joey that has to be the stupidest thing you've ever said!" Tristan shouted, shaking his head knocking his fist into his friend's shoulder.

"Hey! What was that for you big lug!" Joey cried, rubbing his arm and bringing his fists up into a fighting stance.

"You lied! Lying is a sin and sins must be punished!" the brunette replied, smirking slightly.

"Well being ugly is a sin to! So I guess I'll just have to fix that face of yours!" Joey retorted standing up and grabbing hold of the collar of Tristan's school uniform.

"Being ugly is not a sin!" Tristan yelled, shaking his friends hand off. "And if it was I should be the one punishing you!"

"Oh yeah well..."

The other four at the table just shook their heads and buried their faces in their hands as people all around the cafeteria began to stare at their bickering companions. "Joey…Tristan…" Yugi said quietly as the two started exchanging blows. "You're making a scene!"

But the blonde and brunette ignored him completely and continued their squabbling. Yugi looked around imploringly at his other friends. Tea seemed distracted, eyes turned out the window and a sullen expression on her face. Ryou just shook his head as he and the shorter teen made eye contact. He would like to help, but he didn't know what his yami would make him do to friends to end their quarrel. He shuddered at the thought.

Yugi just sighed and turned to face his last remaining option, but when he looked he noticed Jennifer wasn't sitting down. "Where's Jen…" but he thought melted away as he took into the sight before him. Jennifer was standing calmly in between his two friends, holding each of them firmly by the ear as they flailed around wildly. "Now…" she said like a school teacher addressing a bunch of preschooler's "Are you two going to play nice now?" both boys nodded frantically, tears in the corner of their eyes. "Good." She whispered, before releasing them. The two teens fell to the floor, rubbing the sides of their heads and whimpering. Jennifer just smiled sweetly before returning to sit by Yugi, who was by now in a complete fit of giggles, accompanied by Ryou.

After a few moments the two the ground rose, groaning and massaging their reddened earlobes. "Jeez Jennifer! That really hurt!" Tristan cried, laughing and taking his usual seat. "I could have taken her! She just caught me off guard is all…" Joe muttered under his breath as he too took his chair. Yugi, Ryou and Jennifer just shook their head, giggling before staring on their lunches.

* * *

After Tristan and Joey's little argument had been resolved the party had a reasonably enjoyable lunch, laughing and joking, all for the exception of Tea, who kept her attention directed towards the nearby window.

"Hey Jennifer!" Joey said through a mouthful of food. 'I should give you a nick name, seeing as I have one for all my friends!"

"No you don't! You never gave me a nick name!" Tristan cried angrily.

"Sure I did. You're the pointy haired muscle head!" Joey laughed, winking before he was tackled by an irate Tristan.

"Hey, cut it out you two!" Jennifer said, a sly smile playing on the corners of her lips. "You don't want me to have to force you to stop again do you?"

Both instantly desisted their fight, shaking their head violently. "Well I do actually call Yugi Yug." Joey said thoughtfully, putting finger to his chin.

"Well what about Tea and I?" Ryou asked, gesturing towards himself and the spaced out brunette. Joey tapped his chin a couple of times before finally stating "Well Ryou… you're the albino cream puff and Tea's the friendship bitch!" he lchuckled, practically falling over in his chair laughing."

"Hey!" Ryou and Tea cried in unison the brunette finally rejoining the conversation. 'That was actually a good one!' Bakura cried, rolling around the floor of his soul room and shaking with mirth.

Ryou just glared at his yami before throwing a banana at the giggling blonde. It hit Joey square in the middle of the forehead and the blonde toppled over as the table burst out laughing.

"Nice one!" Tea cried, high-fiving the now blushing Ryou.

After a minute or so Joey lifted himself from the ground and took his seat, munching on the banana Ryou had just thrown at him. "Ewww!" Tea and Yugi cried in unison. "Joey, why must you eat things that have fallen on the ground." Tea asked, pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing. "Hey food's food." Was all the blonde said, before turning his attention towards their group's newest member. "So Jennifer what am I going to call you?" he said, tapping his chin, banana smeared across his cheeks. "Oh I know! He cried, pointing at her. "Since your name is Jennifer Thompson I'll call you by your initials! Hey JT!" he waved at Jennifer who by now was looking furious.

"You can't call me JT! I'm not Justin Timberlake!" the brunette screamed, causing Joey to fall backwards out of his chair. The blonde got up and just starred at the brown eyed girl as the entire table burst out laughing, even Tea cracked a small smile.

"What are you dweebs laughing about?" a harsh, familiar voice asked from the front of the table. The group turned to see a tall brunette with cold blue eyes and everlasting scowl planted on his sharp face.

"Kiaba?!" they all cried out in unison, eyes wide.

"What do you want money bags?!" Joey said, glaring angrily at the CEO.

"Nothing that concerns you mutt!" Kiaba sneered as Joey bristled with anger.

"Kiaba, what do you need?" Yugi asked curiously.

The blue eyed boys locked gazes with the spiky haired teen and said "I'm here to invite you to participate in my new tournament. It's the only reason why I would tolerate you idiots."

The rest of the table squawked in indignation, but Yugi just nodded and turned his attention towards his other half. 'Yami, did you hear what Kiaba said.' he asked through their mind link. Atem nodded from with his soul room. 'Yes Yugi and I think we should do it.' He said encouragingly 'Now that we are joined once more, it'll be good for us to duel again.' He smiled and Yugi nodded enthusiastically. "Alright Kiaba." He said as his yami disappeared, deeper into his own mind. "I accept."

'No!' hissed Bakura through their mind link. 'We can't have Yugi that far away from us! Get into that tournament now host!'

"Umm…can I come too?" he asked as Kiaba was turning away from the table. The blue eyed teen scrutinized him for a second before realization struck him. "You're Ryou Bakura from the Battle City tournament!" he said, looking Bakura up and down and nodding once more. "Sure you can come. I want only the best and since you ranked within the top seven in my last tournament you obviously have enough skill to compete in my new more advanced competition." The tall boy turned once from the table, only to be stopped by Joey's angry call.

"Kiaba you jerk!" he screamed, grabbing him by the collar and spinning him around. "I came in fourth in Battle City and you don't even have the courtesy to invite me to your new tournament!"

The blonde yelped as Kiaba twisted his hand around and pinned it behind his back. 'If you ever touch me again mutt, I'll have you arrested for harassment." He sneered, before releasing the boy and watching him topple to the floor.

"Kiaba!" Yugi growled. "Don't hurt my friends like that!"

The blue eyed teen just smirked. "Here you two." He said, throwing a pair of envelope at Ryou and Yugi. "I'll see you in three days." He said , before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Joey are you alright man?!" Tristan asked, as he and Yugi rushed to the fallen teen's side.

"Fine." Joey muttered, brushing their hands off and picking himself off the floor.

"Open them guys." Jennifer said, looking down at the envelopes as the three boys returned to the table. Yugi and Ryou nodded, taking the paper into their hands and broke the seals.

"Mine just has a note saying when the tournament starts, flight information, and this plane ticket." Ryou said, pulling the items out and showing them to his friends.

Yugi opened his own envelope and peered down at its contents. It contained much the same things as Ryou's, plane tickets, some information about the tournament, but at the very bottom was a hand written note from Kiaba himself. Yugi pulled it out and read:

_Dear Yugi,_

_As you know you are invited to participate in my new tournament. But let me tell you something, you had _better_ win Motou. The winner gets to face me in a title match and don't want to see _anyone_ else at the other end of the platform except for you got it? I will _not_ tolerate you losing to anyone except for me, for the privilege of besting you belongs to me and _only_ me! Be ready for some fierce competition because I'm only bringing in the best._

_-Seto Kiaba_

_P.S. You can bring the geek squad if that_ _would make you any happier. I don't really care, just keep your cheerleaders away from me got it?!_

Yugi put the letter down, hands shaking with rage. After all he and Kiaba had been through, the jerk still only wanted his title as the King of Games.

"Yugi are you okay?" Tea asked, throwing an arm around his shoulders and not noticing the sparks that seemed to shoot from Jennifer's ears.

"I'm fine." He said quickly, stuffing the letter back inside the envelope before anyone noticed it. "Mine had the same stuff as Ryou's but I have a few extra tickets, so I guess if you guys want to go…" "Oh thanks so much Yugi!" Jennifer cried, flinging her arms around the small boy's neck and "accidentally" knocking Tea's arm off in the process.

Yugi blushed scarlet as Tea fumed and Joey said something about coming and beating Kiaba's sorry ass.

* * *

"So do you duel too?" Yugi asked as he and Jennifer headed down the deserted streets towards her house.

"Oh yeah." Jennifer said brightly. "Before I moved here I was the top ranked duelist in Egypt!"

"You lived in Egypt?!" Yugi spluttered, halting and spinning around incredulously to face her. Atem stirred at the mention of his home country, peering at Jennifer through his hikari's eyes with interest.

"Umm…yeah…why do you not like Egypt?" Jennifer asked, looking crest fallen.

"No…that's not true...I love Egypt! It's just shocking is all, I mean you don't even have an accent!" Yugi said, blushing slightly as Jennifer laughed.

"My parents and I always spoke English to each other so I never really developed an accent when speaking this language." she giggled

"Why did you move here?" Yugi asked, instantly regretting the question as he watched Jennifer's face become somber.

"My parents didn't make a lot of money and… when I was born they had to borrow some. Where we lived there wasn't really a bank you could go to ask for a loan so they borrowed from some rather…unpleasant people. As time went by my parents were still unable to pay off their debt so the…people came and took their lives for payment instead." Tears built up in her brown eyes as she recalled the events of that fateful night. "They were going to take me to, but I managed to escape and ran to the authorities. I've been living here with my aunt ever since…" she tired to force a small smile as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Yugi felt a pang of sympathy in his heart. He knew what it was like to loose loved ones like that. He recalled the excruciating agony he'd felt as Atem had left for the afterlife, the deep depression, the feeling of being completely and utterly lost and he searched father back in his memories as he remembered the pangs his young heart had felt when he'd lost his own parents. Atem appeared beside his hikari in spirit form and put an arm around the shaking teen's shoulders.

'It's okay Yugi.' He whispered and the younger nodded, trying to smile up at the monarch.

Jennifer looked down at the sidewalk, not meeting Yugi's eyes as she conveyed the secrets of her life to him. Would he laugh at her when he fund out she was an orphan? Turning to look at the small boy, she gasped as she saw a translucent figure standing beside him, a comforting arm draped around his shoulders. The person looked eerily similar to Yugi, but he was taller with sharper features, bright crimson eyes, and lightening like blonde streaks, shooting up into his tri-colored locks. The moment Yugi heard her gasp his head snapped up and the figure beside him vanished completely. Jennifer blinked. 'Had he really even been there?'

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked concernedly, taking her shaking hand.

"I thought I saw…never mind." She murmured, shaking her head and following Yugi down the road.

* * *

YG: Again with not leaving a cliffie!-looks depressed- What happened to me! Oh well. At least this ending does leave you with questions. What's up with Kiaba's new tournament? Why can Jennifer see Atem? And where the hell is Derus? Review to find out!

Seto- Hey I was actually in this chapter!

YG-Yeah, I missed you my little ball of angst- hug-

Seto- If you don't get your paws off me this instant I'll kill you.

YG-yelps and lets go- Sorry Seto-san

Yugi- YG check it out Yami's winning!

YG and Seto- rush over to fight-

YG- Pull out his hair Yami! Come on Pharaoh!

Seto-bored walks away-

Yugi- holds up Yami's hand- And the winner isssssss Atem!!

YG and Yugi- Cheer-

Bakura-growls- Shut the hell up both of you or I'll feed your souls to the shadows!

YG and Yugi- look nervously at each other- run away-

Bakura- Review God damn it! Or my ring will take your life energy and feed it to my shadow monsters!!


	12. Chapter 12:Planes and Duel Monsters

A/N: Wa-wa-we-wow! (Watch Shadi in Yugioh the Abridged Series) I got seven reviews for my crappy story, all in one day! -dances around ecstatically- I absolutely love reviews so the faster I get them the faster I update! This chapter is dedicated to all of those who reviewed!! Mirai-Vegeto, wardragonmon, MysticalElfGirl, rowan5255, gothabie283, coymelody, and The Danvers Girls! Each of you wins an all expenses paid virtual trip to the Bahamas! Now just lay out on the virtual beach, get a holographic smoothie, and enjoy the chapter!!

Disclaimer- YG- dancing around like a monkey on crack-

Bakura- You pathetic author! If you don't stop your incessant dancing I will send your soul to the shadow realm!

Yami- Jeez Tomb robber! You don't have to be so harsh!

YG- It's okay Yami, I don't mind.-smiles brightly- Because this time I got seven reviews and each of them was from a different person so ha!-sticks tongue out at Bakura-

Bakura- You still only got seven.

YG-crosses arms- That's still more than you'll ever get.

Bakura- Like I would want some stupid people to read my amazing work! Only the best can even look at the cover!

Yugi-comes in reading a very large book- Hey guys!

Yami- What book is that Yugi?

Yugi-shrugs- I don't know I just found it on Bakura's dresser.

Bakura-WHAT?!

YG-takes book from Yugi- Chicken Noodle Soup for the Tomb Robber's Soul…wow Bakura…I didn't know you wrote this kind of stuff.

Yami-Let me see- takes book from YG and clears throat- Bakura was a small boy living in the deserts of Egypt long ago…

Bakura- That's it! Give me the book you baka pharaoh!-tackles Yami-

YG-Wait I want to read some of that!-tackles Bakura-

Yugi-sweat drop- While those three bicker I just want to let you know that YG doesn't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh. Just her OCs and the plot! Now enjoy the chapter.-turns to the wrestling teens- Would you guys cut it out!!

"blah"- talking

'blah'- mind link talking or thoughts

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 12- Planes, Duel Monsters, and Trench Coat Wearing Freaks

Yugi looked down at his suitcase once more, tapping his chin and contemplating the contents within. He was missing something, he just knew it! Something very important…

Atem watched from his spot on the bed as Yugi jumped up and ran to the near by dresser, throwing its contents around in his frantic search. 'What are you looking for Yugi?' the pharaoh asked curiously through their mind link as Yugi threw a bright blue sock half way across the room.

"My Duel Disk Yami! I can't find my Duel Disk!" the amethyst eyed teen screeched, turning around to look imploringly at the spirit.

'Where was the last place you saw it?' Atem asked, standing up and walking over to where the other teen was standing.

"I can't remember." Yugi said, tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. "I haven't used it in almost eleven months!" he turned back to the dresser and pulled out the second drawer, tipping it over and pouring an assortment of boxers and night shirts on the ground.

Atem dashed over to Yugi's small desk and tore through the drawers, leaving a jumbled mess of notebooks, pencils and paper back books in a heap on the carpet.

"It's not here!" Yugi screamed, throwing the final dresser drawer aside and hurling himself towards the closet, ripping the door open and yanking the hanging clothes off their racks in his haste.

"It's not in the desk!" the pharaoh called back, diving under the bed and scattering dusk covered items across them room.

"Where is it?!" Yugi shouted, fear and worry coating his frantic tone. The amethyst eyed teen ran out of the disassembled closet, leaving a lumpy pile of discarded clothes in his wake and flew over to his yami, bending down and peering under the bed.

Just then the door to the bedroom creaked open. "Yugi I…" Solomon's voice trailed away as he caught sight of his grandson kneeling down in front of his bed and tossing the items under it pell-mell across the now unrecognizable room.

Yugi's head shot up at the sound of his grandfather's voice. Turning to face the doorway he saw the old man, eyebrow raised as he gazed around the desecrated bedroom, a Duel Disk in his hands… Yugi jumped up and ran over to his grandfather, hugging him around the middle before lifting the Duel Disk out of his arms. "Grandpa where did you find it?!" he cried, jumping around excitedly, the mechanism hoisted up into the air, looking much like a football player that had just won the Superbowl.

"I found it in the backroom of the shop. Since you haven't used it in so long I thought I spruce it up a little." The old man smiled as Yugi wrapped his arms around his waist once more.

"Thank you so much! I thought I wasn't going to be able to find it! And how was I supposed to compete in Kiaba's tournament without a Duel Disk?" he laughed, placing the disk on his bed spread.

"Your welcome Yugi!" the old man smiled, turning away and walking towards the door. Pausing in the doorway he added "Dinner will be ready soon and…" he sent Yugi a sly smile "please pick up this mess." The old man grinned as the boy groaned and shut the door behind him. Once he was out of Yugi's sight his violet eyes clouded over and a smirk appeared on his now sadistic looking face. A voice that did not belong to him protruded from the old man's mouth. "Oh yes, little Yugi enjoy your new 'improved' Duel Disk." He let out a malicious cackle and headed down the staircase.

* * *

"Would you hurry up Tristan! We're going to miss the plane!" Tea screeched as they crawled down the road. Yugi could have sworn that the people outside were walking faster than the snails pace his friend was driving.

"No way!" the brunette replied, patting the wheel affectionately. "I just got this baby painted and cleaned. I'm not taking any risks!"

"You're more likely to have someone hit you now than if you were driving at the speed limit! You have half the road backed up can't you hear them honking!"

Yugi rolled his eyes as the two brunettes continued their argument. Tea did have a point though, if Tristan didn't hurry up they'd miss their flight. Of course Kiaba could always send back for them, but he really didn't want to ask the CEO for any favors.

The amethyst eyed teen felt weight against his shoulder and turned to see Joey leaning against his side, dozing peacefully and drooling slightly. "Joey." Yugi shook his friend, who just twitched, his head slipping down so that his mouth was now touching the collar of Yugi's jacket. "Help me." He mouthed desperately to Ryou and Jennifer who were giggling slightly at his plight.

Ryou laughed, pulling the blonde off Yugi's shoulder and shaking him roughly. "Joey get up! We're almost to the airport!"

"Get your hands off my golden toilet!" the blonde shrieked, sitting up abruptly and looking wildly around at them all.

Yugi, Ryou and Jennifer burst out laughing as Joey, realizing what he'd just said, flushed seven shades of crimson. Atem laughed as well from the inside of the puzzle and Jennifer's head shot up, eyes roaming the car frantically.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked her reaching across Joey and Ryou's laps to shake her shoulder lightly. She looked down at him, eyes uncharacteristically sharp as she scrutinized him closely. After a moment or two she sighed and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"I'm fine." She murmured softly. 'But I could have sworn I just heard someone with a really deep voice laughing…'

* * *

It took them another thirty minutes to reach Kiaba's private airport, much to everyone's annoyance.

"Take good care of my baby!" Tristan cried, as the chauffer drove away towards the parking garage. They lifted their suitcases and rolled them towards the large white building. As the sliding doors opened, the teens were greeted by a wall so sound that almost blew them backwards. The entire floor was packed with duelists and they're luggage. People were talking, laughing, exchanging gossip about the competition, and trading cars. Gigantic TV. Screens stood all over the white walls, giving out information about flights, luggage check in and the tournament in different several different languages.

"Wow." They all said in unison as their eyes swept around the room. Taking a deep breath Yugi stepped forward and began walking towards the check in desk in the far corner of the room. Whispers followed the small teen and eyes raked over his form with skepticism.

"That's Yugi Motou? The great and powerful King of Games is a midget?"

Yugi gritted his teeth and kept on walking, trying to ignore the snide comments that echoed around him. When they reached the desk a woman with bright pink hair and a warm smile greeted them politely.

"Hello." She said kindly, taking the tickets that Yugi handed her. "Everything seems in order." She said, handing back the tickets after a moment or two of silent examination. "You must be very important. Mr. Kiaba has given you a very special private flight. Your plane is that way, gate A-24 and you can leave your baggage with the Ticket Acceptors at the entrance."

"Thank you." Yugi said, giving the kind woman a smile before directing his friends towards the gates and heading off. They had only taken a few steps however when a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Hey Yugi!" Derus said brightly, running over to them, an exuberant smile on his face.

"Derus!" Yugi said in surprise as the black haired boy reached them, panting slightly.

"Derus, you're in the tournament?" Joey asked and the dark eyed boy nodded. Ryou eyed the boy with suspicion as Atem growled from within the puzzle, making Jennifer jump and look wildly around. Her antics went unnoticed by the rest of the group as Tea asked "What plane are you on?"

"Oh that woman over there told me I had to go to gate A-24." Derus replied, gesturing over to the pink haired woman at the desk and pulling his ticket out of his pocket.

"That's our plane!" Tea squeaked. "We're all going to get to fly together!" the brunette took Yugi's hand and began dragging him down the hallway. "Hurry up everyone we don't want to miss our flight!" she called behind her.

Noticing Tea's vice like grip on _her _Yugi's hand Jennifer bristled and, forgetting the growling from before, ran after the two teens, quickly followed by Derus, Tristan, Ryou, and a grumbling Joey.

They reached the gate and handed the uniformed woman at the entrance their tickets. She pasted a scanner over the each ticket and nodded to the teens as they passed, leaving their suitcases on the ground by her feet. As soon as the last passenger had entered the plane the woman shut the door and signaled to the pilot through her walkie-talkie that the plane was ready for take off.

* * *

The teens all gasped as they entered the luxurious airplane. The walls were solid oak and carved with intricate patterns of different duel monsters. A group of plush leather arm chairs stood in a semi circle around the large flat screen TV against the far wall. At the end of the room was a long hallway that lead off the seven different bedrooms, each furnished after a different Duel monster.

"Wow…this is…amazing!" Jennifer murmured, running a hand along the decorative walls.

"I've seen better." Joey murmured, flopping down into one of the leather arm chairs and pulling a soda out of a near by mini fridge. "You should have seen the Ishtar's jet! It makes this one look like a little toy airplane."

"Who are the…"But Yugi just shook his head, indicating that it was much too long a story to tell. Jennifer nodded and followed the rest of the group down the hall towards their separate bedrooms. Name tags stood on the front of the front of each doors and much, to Tea's disappointment, Jennifer's was situated right across the hall from Yugi's.

The teens each disappeared into their separate rooms as the pilot came over the intercom, warning them to fasten their seat belts for take off.

Yugi looked around the large room, a gigantic smile on his excited face. "Maybe Kiaba isn't such a bad guy." He laughed, running over to the midnight purple bed and flopping down atop the silken sheets.

Atem appeared beside his hikari in spirit form and looked around the room appreciatively. 'A Dark Magician theme… nice…" he muttered, running his hand along the violet walls that held a gigantic carving of Yugi's favorite Duel Monster.

Yugi sat up and watched the darkening sky out side his window. Atem walked over and settled down next to him gazing out at the clouds. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Yugi finally sighed and looked at his yami. "Do you remember the prophecy Ishisu told us about?"

Atem nodded "How could I forget?"

"Well…it's been a while and nothing remotely evil has even come our way."

'I'd beg to differ.' Atem thought sarcastically as an image of Derus flashed before is eyes. "We just have to wait Yugi, be patient." He said soothingly.

"It's just so hard to be patient knowing there's something evil out there! Something that could hurt someone! If that happened I don't know what I'd do! We're supposed to protect people Yami! But how can we protect them if we don't know what to protect them from!" Yugi shouted.

Atem put a comforting arm around his hikari's shoulders. "I don't know Yugi we just…" he was cut off by a loud crash that resonated from right outside his door.

* * *

Ryou paced nervously back and forth across the room, his yami watching him with amusement. "Calm down host." Bakura murmured, settling back against the bedpost as Ryou continued to fidget.

"But Derus is out there!" he hissed, pointy towards his bedroom door. "I don't trust that guy, Bakura. Not at all."

Bakura chuckled at the nervous thoughts his hikari was sending to him. "I don't think he's going to out right murder the midget." Bakura sneered as he saw a mental picture of Yugi lying in a pool of his own blood, a lone figure in a trench coat standing before him, flash through Ryou's mind.

"Well maybe not, but I do know that he's clearly not the shy new student everyone thinks he is!" Ryou retorted, anxiousness for his friend over coming his usual quiet tone.

"Obviously!" Bakura snorted.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Ryou jumped ten feet in the air and spun around the see Derus standing in the now open doorway. "D-Derus." The white haired teen stuttered, backing away slightly as the dark haired boy stepped into the room.

"Oh hello Ryou." Derus smirked a haunting gleam appearing in his coal black eyes. "I thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing."

"I-I'm f-fine D-Derus. Y-You c-can l-leave n-now." Ryou trembled as he backed against the bed frame.

"Awww." Derus said in mock hurtfulness, advancing slowly on the frightened teen. "I wanted to hang out with you." Derus's hands reached into his pocket as he lifted a large gold object from his trench coat.

"That's the…!" Ryou was cut off by a flash of light that resonated from a spot on his chest. The room was filled with a bright golden glow before the atmosphere returned to normal, all except for one of the occupants.

"Hello Derus. I don't think we've met." Bakura chuckled.

* * *

YG- I guess I left a little cliffie there at the end… Oh well. Sorry for the blandness of this chapter, but I needed to set up the plot for chapter thirteen. There's a lot of information in the next chapter so instead of making you sit and read a twelve page chapter I divided it into two parts, the better of which is in chapter thirteen. I still hope you liked this pointless filler chapter! Please review!- turns to Bakura- Now give me that book tomb robber.

Yami, Bakura, and Yugi-crying with book open in their laps-

Yugi- This is just so sad!-sobs-

Yami-I didn't know it was so hard to be a tomb robber!-sniffles-

Bakura- Now you know my pain.

YG-Ummm…yeah…I'm going to leave now…

Bakura-Everyone in my life leaves me!-sobs-

Yami and Yugi- Put comforting arms around Bakura's shoulder- It's okay Kura.

YG-Yeah…Please Review…and stuff…

Bakura- I have now will to live!


	13. Chapter 13: Secrets and Allies

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! If you reviewed then you hopefully got my message about only updating on weekends! Well anyway, here's the new chapter! I'm sorry it took so long to update but I'm lazy and busy! As always this chapter is dedicated to all my amazing reviewers!! You each get a virtual pat on the back! (Okay, I'm sorry the reward is so crappy, but I'm running low on holographic money!)

Disclaimer: YG-curled up in a dark corner-

Yugi to Yami- Is she okay?

Yami-shrugs-

Yugi- YG are you okay?-shakes shivering girl-

YG-in a thin voice- I'm sick Yugi…It took me a lot of strength just to get up and write this chapter…

Bakura- Ha you pathetic mortal! You've contracted a mere bacterial virus that has caused you to cower upon the ground! You humans are weak!

Yugi- Bakura! Shut the hell up!-throws brick at tomb robber-

Bakura-dodges brick- Pathetic mortal! You shall pay for your insolence! –knocks Yugi out with shadow powers-

Yami- How dare you lay a finger on my hikari you impertinent peasant!-throws Bakura against the wall with shadow magic-

YG-in a weak voice- While those two idiots argue, I just have to tell you that I don't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh. Now please just read the chapter while I take some aspirin…

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 13: Secrets and Allies

_Rain pored down from the blackened sky, cascading upon the lone figure in voluminous sheets. Lightening forked across the dark expanse above him, casting the person's face into sharper focus. His hair was gold and red-violet trimmed black spikes that, at the moment, were plastered down over his face by the torrent of rain. The boy dashed across the muddy landscape, dry sobs racking his body as thunder rumbled hungrily in the distance. His feet pounded upon the slick earth, occasionally slipping on the wet soil. _

_Suddenly, a cold voice filled the void around the sprinting figure, drowning the noises of the storm with its sheer volume. "Run all you want, little prince, there is no escape!" the unseen speaker cackled, making the runner quake. "I won't let you win!" the shaking runner called, turning on his heel to face the oncoming voice. A gigantic black hand materialized from thin air, stretching out towards the small boy. Its shadowy fingers coiled tightly around his throat, forcing his chin upward to reveal a pair of bright amethyst eyes. "Mine!" the eerie voice proclaimed as the life began to drain from the figures face, his eyes going dull. "Mine…"_

Jennifer shot up, nearly knocking her head against the canopy of her bed. Gasping for air, the girl's eyes whirled wildly around her bedroom. Nothing seemed out of place. The Guardian Angel Joan mural upon the pail golden wall gazed unseeingly back at her, blue eyes, forever chiseled into the wood, glazed and unresponsive. The tanned girl sighed, running trembling fingers through her sweat drenched hair. That dream…it had seemed so real…but it couldn't be… she told herself, shaking her head and detaching herself from the damp bed sheets she was currently entangled in.

Stumbling over to the adjoining bathroom, Jennifer flicked on the lights, illuminating the marble covered countertops and sleek golden bathtub. Ignoring the splendor around her, the girl hobbled over to a near by mirror and peered intently at her reflection. She looked a mess. Her face was deathly pale and her brown hair stood up in mangled patterns around her head. Her bangs lay plastered down to her forehead and her eyes were red and blood shot, as though she had not slept in days. Jennifer brought a shaking hand up and touched her finger tips to the glass, her ghastly reflection mimicking her actions.

'I look terrible.' She thought, wrapping her fingers around the hilt of a comb, before raking it through the unruly knots in her tangled mane of hair. 'What was that dream about anyway?' she thought to herself as she coaxed the brush through a rather stubborn mass of knots. She recalled the image of the young, running boy and shivered as the unknown owner of that cruel voice wrapped his shadow-made claw around his slim throat. A tear slid silently down her cheek as the boy's dying amethyst eyes swam before her. The pleading, helpless look that glowed within his pupils racked Jennifer's body with tremors of emotion. "Those eyes…" she whispered another tear streak marking her cheek. "They were Yugi's eyes…" Over taken by a sudden urge to see the boy and make sure everything was alright, Jennifer glanced at her reflection once more, to insure she was presentable, before charging out the door and across the hall.

The brown eyed girl raised a hand to knock, when, suddenly, she was stopped by the sound of voices on the other side of the door. Moving towards a gap where the door stood slightly ajar, Jennifer peered in and gasped at the sight before her. Yugi sat on his violet colored bed, feet dangling a good foot off the ground as he spoke in a low voice. But it wasn't Yugi that disturbed her, oh no, it was the person to which he was speaking! Sitting beside the small teen was a translucent figure with red-violet trimmed black spikes and blonde bangs, three of which shot up into the black spikes. His face was sharp, and his eyes were a deadly crimson that held a fierce amount of intimidating strength and an aura of overwhelming power. It was the same hallucination she had seen the other day while walking home from school, but it couldn't be a hallucination, for Yugi was talking to it!

"Well…it's been a while and nothing remotely evil has even come our way." Jennifer heard Yugi mutter to the fearsome figure beside him. Moving closer to the crack, Jennifer listened as the stranger replied in a deep baritone voice that sent chills down her spine "We just have to wait Yugi, be patient."

'Why would they want to encounter something evil?' Jennifer wondered to herself, fear and nerves tossing her stomach around. She took quick step away from the door, no longer interested in the malicious plans Yugi was making with the translucent being. Her main priority was just to get the hell out of there that instant! She took another swift step backwards and gasped as the heel of her foot made contact with a loose floorboard. She stumbled frantically before falling with a defining 'bang' on the hardwood flooring. The voices abruptly stopped and shuffling footfalls warned her that some was approaching. 'Crap it's them!' she mentally screamed as the door to the room crept slowly open.

* * *

"What was that?" Yugi whispered out loud, standing up and striding over to the bedroom door, as Atem disappeared back inside the puzzle. Gasping the knob, Yugi braced himself for anything dangerous or unexpected and pushed the door open.

"Jennifer?" the small teen said as his amethyst eyes landed on the brunette girl before him. Jennifer lay on her back in the middle of the floor, dressed in a lilac night gown that splayed out around her like the blades of a fan. The brown eyed girl rubbed the side of her head as she stood, and peered at Yugi with curiosity and, something that thoroughly confused him, mistrust and fear.

"Jennifer, are you okay?" the small teen asked, extending a pail hand out towards the girl who flinched and edged away from his touch. "What's wrong?" he said, confusion lacing his voice as he advanced towards the now retreating girl.

* * *

Jennifer cursed as she felt her back make contact with the paneled wood of the wall. Yugi's amethyst eyes peered at her with a mixture of confusion, hurt and concern as he extended his hand towards her. His strange translucent twin was no where to be seen, but Jennifer wasn't taken any chances. No way was she going to take the hand of someone she had just heard _wishing_ for evil to find him! She tried to edge away from the innocent looking boy, but tripped once more and landed flat on her back.

"Jennifer!" Yugi cried, reaching down to help the fallen girl from the ground. As he reached towards her, however, he noticed something golden glimmering around the girl's cinnamon colored neck. "What's this?" he asked, hooking a finger around the thin golden chain and pulling the rest of the necklace out from underneath Jennifer's nightgown.

As the hallway lamps illuminated the small golden pendent Yugi let out an exclamatory screech. "What?!"

* * *

Bakura eyed the dark haired boy before him with contempt. 'This mere mortal wouldn't dare harm me!' he mentally cried in triumph, advancing upon the black eyed boy. 'Don't get too… cocky…Bakura…' Ryou practically whimpered through their link as the bonds Bakura had placed around his consciousness constricted around him. 'We don't…know what he's…capable of…'

'Oh please.' Bakura cackled, brushing Ryou's warning away with a lazy flick of his wrist. 'No pathetic little teenager could harm me! I'm Bakura, The King of Thieves!'

The white haired thief reached out towards Derus, who was now only standing three feet away from him, when suddenly a pulsating light emanated from his chest, and the Millennium ring shot upwards, its pointers quivering as the landed upon a spot in Derus's trench coat.

Bakura's brown eyes followed the pointers path and directed one of his fingers towards the selected section of coat. "What's in your pocket, boy?!" Bakura cried, in voice dangerous enough to make a lion run for cover. To the thief's astonishment and extreme anger, the teenager threw his head back and howled with insane laughter. "You insolent little brat!" Bakura cried, rushing forward and gripping the collar of the still laughing teen's shirt. "How dare you laugh at The Thief King! I should send your soul to the shadow realm where it will forever be feasted upon by the creatures of the darkness until you are nothing more than an empty pitiful excuse for life!"

The dark eyed boy just starred at him, before breaking out into a far louder fit of mirth.

Howling with rage, Bakura threw the boy roughly to the ground before reaching down towards his ring. "You asked for this mortal!" he cried as the room began to fill with ghostly shadows.

Derus stood, still chuckling, and fixed Bakura with his malicious stare, a cruel smirk twisting the corners of his mouth. "I'll show you what's in my pocket." He whispered, reaching into the coat with his right hand, black eyes ever leaving Bakura's face. Said thief was too curious to know just what his ring wanted him to find to notice that the shadow around him had disappeared.

Derus's wondering hand suddenly stopped shifting through the folds of his clothing and an eerie smile replaced his smirk. "Behold, Thief King." He cried, yanking his arm out to the jacket "The Millennium Rod!"

* * *

"Oh my God!" Yugi cried as his eyes raked over the pendant in his palm. "Jennifer do you know what this is?!" he gasped looking at the girl with a mixture of excitement, fear, and glee.

Jennifer just gazed at the boy, her brown eyes searching his amethyst pools for a hint of malevolence and sign that he meant her harm, but there was none. The teen just seemed overjoyed and slightly scarred at his discovery of her necklace. She wasn't going to take any chances, however. She knew people could be amazing actors and she wouldn't put that skill past the charms of the little ball of "innocents" before her.

"It's a family heirloom!" the tanned girl suddenly snapped, wrenching the golden pendant from a very shocked Yugi's hand. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't touch it with your grubby little fingers!" she huffed irritably, tucking the trinket safely within the front of her night gown.

Yugi took a step back at her harsh words, hurt and dismay clearly visible in his violet irises. Jennifer felt regret instantly well inside her at thought of hurting the perfect, angelic boy, and almost reached out to stroke his face and ask for forgiveness for her atrocious behavior. Almost.

Placing a smug smirk upon her face, Jennifer turned on her heel and headed back down the hallway, wanting to escape the lingering, melancholy eyes that followed her.

As her fingers clasped around the knob of her bedroom door, a frantic pulsating glow emanated from her necklace as the hallway behind her filled with a blinding white light.

"Wait!" a deep, commanding voice ordered. Jennifer shivered involuntarily. She knew that voice.

Shaking with terror, the brunet turned slowly on her heel to face none other than the entity Yugi had been speaking to in his room, only the person before her was most certainly not translucent. His blazing crimson eyes bore down upon her and a very real, very solid had reached out towards her quaking form.

Jennifer's breath quickened as her heart beat out a frantic rhythm in her chest. Pressing her body as close to the wall as it would allow, Jennifer watched in horror as the figure approached. She could almost see the palpable aura of power and dignity that surrounded him, as if his very existence demanded respect.

"I would appreciate it if you would explain how that powerful item came into your possession." The entity growled, sending spasms of fear through out Jennifer's body.

"Yami stop this, you're scarring her!" a familiar voice said from somewhere behind the looming stranger. "Yugi?!" Jennifer cried in shock as the small boy stepped around the strange entity. "What…why…" she stuttered as she examined the boy before her, if he was still as boy. The normally solid teen now stood before her, translucent as his now solid friend. Astonished, see through amethyst eyes gazed back at her as the "spirit" Yugi gasped "Jennifer? You can see me?"

She nodded, a million questions streaming through her mind as the one dubbed Yami said "It must be her necklace Yugi. It allows her to see us in spirit form." The smaller look a like nodded and turned to face his shaking companion. "I bet you're very confused right now."

"Hell yeah!" she almost screamed, casting nervous glances between the two. "Well then let me explain."

What the she witnessed next startled Jennifer out of her senses. Without opening his mouth Yugi said 'Yami, let me take over.' 'As you wish.' The taller replied, without so much as a twitch of the lips. There was another blinding flash of light that caused her necklace to pulse and then it was no longer Yami that was standing before her.

"Yugi?" she asked quietly. The small teen nodded, a half smile stretching his lips as he traversed the few feet that separated them. "But how and he…" Jennifer stuttered, pointing to the now translucent Yami that stood beside the young teen.

Yugi smiled a true smile, gesturing towards the figure beside him. "Jennifer I would like to introduce you to my yami."

* * *

Derus smirked at the shocked look the yami was giving him. "Yes Bakura…" he said the name with a smirk "This is the Millennium Rod, and I believe by your reaction that you've seen it before?"

"Yes, you pathetic mortal." Bakura growled, bristling as the insolent teen addressed him in such a disrespectful manner. "And how did a speck of dirt like you come to hold such and item?"

"Well…" Derus said airily, twirling the rod around his finger in a very annoying fashion. "That's kind of a long story…"

"Then tell it you runt!' Bakura shouted, his temper getting the better of him.

"Now now." Derus said mockingly, shaking a disapproving finger at the white haired thief. "Let's not get angry. Maybe someone needs a time out." He said in a voice reminiscent of a mother scolding a young child.

"That's it!" Bakura cried ignoring the plea his hikari shouted at him and lunging at the arrogant teenager's throat. He was surprised as a wave of shadow magic rushed over him, sending him flying backwards into the far wall. His head collided with the paneled wood and he slid down into a sitting position, the shadows twisting around his arms and legs, immobilizing his limbs.

"That's better." Derus said, striding over to the fallen yami and looking gloatingly down at his prisoner. "Now, if you'll be a good little boy I'll let you go." He sneered, tweaking the tip of his captive's nose.

'BOY!!' the yami screeched indignantly inside his mind. Letting out a feral cry, he summoned his own shadow powers and prepared to launch a counter act at the still grinning teen. "Ah, ah ,ah…" Derus said in a sing song voice, waggling his finger.

Suddenly, Bakura felt the reserves of shadow magic he had called forward disappear. "What the…" he gasped, mentally groping around for a hint of his powers. He found none. "Derus!" he bit out "What did you do?!"

Derus laughed then. A high, cold, unbroken note full of twisted malice. "Well. You truly are ignorant aren't you?" he sneered. "I would have expected better from the legendary Thief King!"

"Why you little..." Bakura retort was cut short as a band of shadows wrapped around his mouth.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me." Derus said casually, leaning against Ryou's bed post. "Now, as I was saying. You are ignorant, but not to fear, I am here to show you the true power you should be searching for!" At the last word, Derus brought up his Rod and the mass of shadows around him bubbled, twisting and contorting, to form an image of ancient Egypt.

"My father was an archeologist in Egypt." Derus muttered, the shadows shifted to show an image of a kind looking man with jet black hair and warm green eyes. "Every summer he would bring home different artifacts he had discovered on his digs. I loved each piece he brought back, but what I treasured above all were the stories he learned while reading ancient tablets in lost tombs." The image of the man vanished, to be replaced by a wall of Egyptian Hieroglyphs. "My favorite of his stories was the tale of the nameless pharaoh that sacrificed his soul to save his people from a great evil Thief King known as Bakura."

Derus smiled as the hieroglyphs morphed into a shadowy version of Bakura's face. "Every day I would ask him to tell me that story, and he complied, thinking I was enraptured by the selflessness of the king!" Derus cackled, throwing his dark head back in an eerie fashion. "Little did he know it was you who I sympathized with! The great King of Thieves! An almighty title. Much better then the nameless pharaoh!" As Derus chuckled the shadows contorted into a picture of a much younger looking Derus, surrounded by massive piles of books, and bent double over a large, dusty volume. "I was determined to learn more about you, so for years I searched through countless archives, legends, tombs, and anything else that might help bring me more information about your life." As each description passed Derus's lips, an image of the scenario would form from the shadows. "And at last I struck gold…" Derus whispered, a small smile toying with the corners of his mouth.

"I was in Egypt with my Father on an expedition, when I found it." He murmured, the scene in the shadows shifting once more to show the present day Derus walking through a high walled valley the sun beating mercilessly down upon his dark hair. "As I was exploring some near by land, I stumbled upon the wreckage of what looked like and an ancient pharaoh's tomb. Curious, I shifted through the rubble and discovered this." He looked down at the Millennium Rod, stroking its sides lovingly. "The moment my fingers brushed against it I was overwhelmed by waves of power." He laughed again, the image in the shadows displaying a Derus surrounded by shadows and blasting everything in his path to smithereens. "As I…tested my new found abilities I stumbled upon the entrance to a small cave." As he spoke a replica of the events played across the shadows. Bakura felt as though he had been transported into Derus's memory as he watched the dark eyed teen stride purposefully through a dimly lit hallway, reading the strange hieroglyphs that adorned the walls. "I felt compelled to continue down the never ending hall, as though some force was calling out me, drawing me towards it. After a while I finally reached the end of the hall, which opened up into a magnificent golden chamber." An image of a room completely incased in the glimmering metal, swam before Bakura's eyes as the shadows reflected the scene. "In the center of the room there was a tablet… and on that tablet was a prophecy…"

As the tablet appeared in the shadows, Bakura read the ancient prophecy in graved on its surface. "I didn't know this King of Shadows or Prince of Light…" Derus muttered "…but I did know that!" the dark haired boy pointed a commanding finger at the picture in the shadows. Bakura's eyes followed the path he was directing and beheld…

'The Millennium Puzzle!' Ryou mentally screamed. With new determination, the hikari tried to free himself from the bonds around his mind, concern and fear for his friend completely dominating Bakura's senses. Reaching within himself, the white haired thief used whatever mental strength he had to subdue the struggling boy, forcing him backwards into the deepest parts of his physique.

"So…" Derus continued, unaware of the mental battle that was raging before him. "I had heard of the Millennium Items through the many sources I'd scavenged through, and I knew that I was now the holder of the Millennium Rod and that that boy…" he waved a had towards tablet " the holder of the Millennium Puzzle, was the wielder of the incredible power of light as told of in the prophecy." He smiled a true smile then, which only made his features seem, if possible, even more insane. "To hold such power…" Derus whispered, stroking the sides of the Millennium Rod. "… to finally have enough strength as to be remembered as in the same category as the great Thief King…" his eyes darted to Bakura once more "…I had to have it…I had to find this prince and take his light for my own."

The scene in the shadows shifted to show Derus walking into a dusty looking tent, were the kind looking man with jet black hair and green eyes lay splayed out on a cot, covered with dust and staring at an old T.V., whose antenna were twice the size of the screen. "Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing who this prince was, were he lived, or even if he had been born yet!" Derus continued. "But when I returned to our campsite that night, I discovered my father watching some old Duel Monsters matches. That old fool always had a strange fascination for the card game." Derus scoffed, rolling his black eyes. "But for once his obsession served me well, for who should be on the screen dueling Seto Kiaba? None other than Yugi Motou!" the young teens face swam before Bakura in the shadows as he called an attack on Kiaba's life points. "And what did I see sitting on that midget's chest? Why…the Millennium Puzzle of course!" Derus cackled with joy. "The reporter on the screen said that the 'King of Games'…" he said the name mockingly "…was currently living in Domino City in the states." (A/N: Remember in this one they live in America) "Using the power of the rod I…convinced my father to move us immediately to Domino. Little did I know that I would not only discover the Prince of Light in the city, but also the spirit of my hero. The Thief King."

Leaning down so that he could whisper in Bakura's ear the teen said "And I'm so glad I found you…because now…we can take down the prince and his little pharaoh friend, and use his light to control the world that should have been yours all those millennia ago…" Straightening, Derus flicked his wrists so that the bonds around Bakura vanished. The spirit stood on shaky legs and turned to face the maniacal teen. "Do you accept?" Derus asked. An evil smirk graced Bakura's face as Ryou mentally screamed in protest. "Why…I thought you'd never ask…"

* * *

YG-Well that's the chapter! I hope you liked it! It took forever and a day to write!

Yugi- You feeling better YG?

YG-nods- Thank God for aspirin!

Yami- Hey has anyone seen that baka Tomb robber?

Bakura-stubbles in holding his head and coughing violently- You insolent mortal! You've infected me with your viral bacteria!-sneezes-

YG-Who's laughing now!

Bakura- Why you little-sneezes-I'm going to destroy you!

YG-Bring it!

Bakura-lunges after YG holding a knife-

YG-pulls out baseball bat- Hey! No fair! Knives aren't aloud!

Yugi and Yami-roll eyes- Please review! You know how much she loves them!

Bakura-Ouch!

YG-Take that you albino creampuff!

Yugi and Yami-Bye!


	14. Chapter 14: The Truth Revealed

A/N: Hey everyone I'm back!! No I didn't have a heart attack or fall off the face of the earth or anything…I've just been really lazy! Sorry to those of you who actually check everyday for updates, but inspiration for this story comes and goes…the plot bunnies seem to like teasing me now. Anyway I decided to update since I know people actually read this and I didn't do it last week…-sweat drop- As always it's dedicated to my reviewers! Anonymous or otherwise! Now enjoy!

Disclaimer- YG-playing Twilight Princess on Wii- Yes! Ooh! Dodge that sword Link! No…no…NO! –slams controller down on ground while screen reads Game Over- Stupid video game character wouldn't move fast enough…-more grumbling-

Yugi and Yami-walk in- Hey YG!-smiles-

YG-huffs and looks away-

Yugi-What's wrong with her?

Yami-shrugs-

Bakura- cackles- She's upset because she can't beat a mere video game monster!-laughs again-

YG- SHUT UP BAKURA! –throws controller at tomb robber-

Bakura- dodges controller- I bet I could beat him!

YG- Oh yeah? –raises eyebrow-

Bakura- Heck yeah! How hard can this thing be anyway?!- picks up controller-

Yami- Ummm…YG what about the readers?

YG- Just do the fricken disclaimer!-turns back to screen-

Yugi and Yami-YG doesn't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh! Just here OCs and the plot!

Bakura-looking irritated- HOW DO YOU WORK THIS STUPID THING!

Yugi-Enjoy!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 14: The Truth Revealed

"So let me get this straight…" Jennifer said slowly, brown eyes darting between Yugi and his transparent look-a-like. " He's…" she said, pointing a finger Atem. "…the spirit of a pharaoh that lived thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, before sealing his soul away inside your Millennium Puzzle to save his people from destruction?"

"Pretty much!" Yugi said happily, smiling broadly at Jennifer's slightly befuddled expression. "And when my grandpa went on a dig in Egypt, he found the pieces of the puzzle and gave them to me. It took me eight years but I finally managed to put it together and when I did, my soul bonded with Yami's here." The amethyst eyed teen shot the spirit a quick grin. "We had a couple of adventures, saved the world from evil and…well…here we are!" he exclaimed, eyes gleaming as he finished recounting the events of the last few years to his slightly overwhelmed companion.

Jennifer looked from boy to spirit and back again a thousand thoughts flying threw her mind in an instant. How? What? When? Why? So many questions. But at least she knew that Yugi spoke the truth. How could she deny that fact went the evidence stood solidly-or a solidly as a transparent person can be- before her? Taking a calming breath, to settle her raging heart beat Jennifer let out in a whisper "And this prophecy… the one…Ishisu and Shadi…?" she shot Yugi a quick glance and the small teen nodded. "…Ishisu and Shadi told you about… it means you have to find this…Millennium Gem and save the world from some evil forces of darkness?" (A/N: God I feel like I just swallowed a stupid 4kids plot!)

"Yeah…that's what we were wondering about…" Yugi said, gesturing towards the spirit beside him. "That pendant…" he whispered, pointing towards the golden locket that still hung, suspended around Jennifer's neck. "I think it's the item we've been looking for!"

"What?!" Jennifer cried, looking from the spirit to the teenager and grasping the chain around her throat. "This can't possibly…it's been in my family for years…I…but…how!!" she exclaimed, total confusion and shock emanating in her tone.

"You're from Egypt right?" Atem asked. Jennifer nodded. "I still don't see how that means my necklace is the Millennium Gem!"

"Well…you said it had been handed down through your family for generations so who's to say that it's not as old as my puzzle…and look!" the Yugi cried, directing a finger towards the pendant. "It even has the same eye etched in its center!"

Jennifer gasped, examining, in truth, the locket that she now wore. Yugi did not lie. Though she had never noticed it before, in the center of the emerald gem was an eye, identical to the one on Yugi's puzzle.

After a moment of quiet examination she whispered "This explains so much…"

"So much of what?" Yugi asked, stepping closer and peering inquisitively at the brunette.

"When I was younger…" Jennifer whispered not removing her eyes from the gem. "…I would always love to pretend I was on an adventure…like the heroes in all those action movies…I imagined I was in a different place in a different time and…suddenly…I would actually be in the situation I was 'acting' out." She caressed the sides of the necklace lovingly, eyes still downcast. "I could be anyone I wanted! Do anything I pleased, but I always seemed to return back to reality whenever someone back in the 'real' world called my name. I told my parents of my adventures but they just wrote my stories off as a part of my active imagination…and once I started to believe them…the visions of adventure came less and less… But now…after hearing all of this from you I think that maybe…it wasn't just a silly childhood fantasy…that it might have been real…" She laughed then, mirth filled eyes locking with Yugi's own. "I bet you think I'm crazy huh?" she giggled, whipping a stray tear from the corner of her eye.

"Of course not!" Yugi exclaimed. "When I first put together the puzzle, I started having blank stretches in my memory and strange, twisted things kept happening to those who tried to hurt me. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, that I was just being silly, but then I learned the truth of Yami and my destiny and everything!" he took Jennifer's hand in his own. "My friends didn't abandon me or think I was insane when I told them…and I'm not going to do the same to you." He smiled his perfect little smile at her and she grinned back. "Thanks Yugi I…"

She was cut off by the sound of foot steps coming down the hall. "What's going on?" a familiar voice called as a bedraggled Joey, Tristan, and Tea walked up to them. "I heard voices and…oh…" Joey said, realization spreading across his drowsy face as his brown eyes darted down to Yugi and Jennifer's interlocked fingers. "Sorry Yug. Didn't know I was interrupting." The blonde said with a wink. Yugi's cheeks flushed scarlet as Tristan chuckled knowingly and Tea's left eye began to twitch violently.

"Come on guys; let's leave these to love birds alone." Joey laughed, pushing a still grinning Tristan and a very reluctant Tea back down the hall.

Yugi and Jennifer's eyes locked and they both blushed in unison. "Umm…we'll talk about it in the morning…" Jennifer murmured, pulling her hand free of a slightly disappointed Yugi's clutch.

"Goodnight Yugi! Goodnight Yami!" she called, turning back towards her bedroom door. "Night!" they called back. Atem nudged Yugi hard in the ribs and shot him a very knowing glance before disappearing back into the puzzle.

"Wait." Jennifer heard Yugi say as her hands wrapped around the handle of the doorknob. The brunette turned, only to feel her lips collide with that of the on coming teen's. They stood there for a moment, both reveling in the perfection of the moment before Yugi finally turned away, his face flushed deeper than the tips of his hair. "Goodnight. " He murmured, giving her a quick hug before disappearing into the sanctity of his bedroom. Jennifer brought a trembling hand up to her lips, a smile spreading across her reddened face. "Goodnight…Yugi…"

* * *

Tea sat in her room, fingers toying with the corner of her Dark Magician Girl comforter. "This is so silly." She whispered to herself as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "It's Yugi! YUGI! You're best friend! The holder of the Millennium Puzzle!

'And your heart.' A small voice in the back of her head whispered. She pushed the thought away, shaking her head viciously. "No…I don't love Yugi…I don't…"

'Oh just stop denying the truth when it's so blatantly obvious that you're head over heels for the little guy!' the other voice added.

"Oh butt out of it!" Tea cried, rubbing her temples agitatedly. "Oh great, now I'm arguing with myself!" she groaned, burying her face in a pillow.

She lay there, curled up in ball as her thoughts ran rampant around her mind. "I thought I always loved Atem...I thought…"

'Well you thought wrong!' the voice in the back of her mind cried. 'You know it's been Yugi! It's always been Yugi! Ever since you first met him in elementary school! That warm smile, those bright eyes, the way he always makes you feel whole and complete… quit denying it! You love him!'

The brunette groaned again, sitting up and banging her head repeatedly into the wall beside her bed. "But why now?! Why did I have to realize these feelings_ now_?!" she asked of thin air. Once more the answer came from somewhere within her self conscience.

'You did always know, but you never acted upon the emotions because you weren't ready, you knew Yugi returned your feelings, and you thought he'd wait for you as long as it took.'

"Then I guess I waited too long…" Tea murmured as a vision of Yugi and Jennifer, fingers laced together and eyes locked in an intense, loving gaze, swam before her. She felt a fresh wave of tears well up in her eyes as the memory of the happy couple stabbed violently at her heart. "I should have told him… I shouldn't have denied what I felt…led him to believe my heart was Atem's…oh Yugi!" she cried falling face down against the bed sheets as a wave of agony washed over her. "I do love you! I do!" but no one was there to hear.

(A/N: Holy Crap! O.O Did I just write…PEACHSHIPPING!! –throws up- Gods I've gone sappy!)

* * *

Yugi bit down into his bagel, savoring the delicious flavor of cream cheese and warm bread that filled his mouth. To his right, Joey and Tristan sat, guzzling down mounds of pancakes, waffles, eggs and bacon, and to his left, Jennifer nibbled delicately on a buttered croissant. The four lounged in the sitting room at the front of the plane as the flight attendants brought out platters full of food from which they now dinned.

Yugi heard a loud retching sound and turned to see Joey, face purple and choking violently as Tristan pounded forcefully on the blonde's back with his fist. After a moment or two, Joey swallowed roughly and grabbed his now freed air way, breathing heavily. "See Joe, that why you chew _before_ you shallow!" Tristan exclaimed. Yugi and Jennifer laughed loudly as Joey shot Tristan a death glare.

Just then, shuffling foot falls foretold the arrival one of there fellow passengers. Yugi turned in his leather armchair to see a pajama clad Ryou stumbling sleepily into the room. "Hey guys!" he called cheerfully, rubbing one of his eyes. The occupants of the room all gave various forms of greeting back to him as the white haired boy strolled over and plucked a donut from the heap of food upon the coffee table.

'Say a word about last night, host, and they will all die!' Bakura hissed through their mind link. Ryou gulped, eyes darting worryingly between his friends.

Jennifer's head shot up and she gazed suspiciously around the room.

Noticing her sudden stiffness Yugi turned and asked concernedly "What's wrong Jen?" The brunette just shook her head dismissively. "I thought I heard something…but it was probably just my imagination." She laughed, waving an airy hand.

"Good morning everyone." A drowsy voice called as Derus strolled lazily into the room. Joey, Tristan, and Yugi each welcomed the dark haired boy warmly, but Ryou just looked nervously down at his toes and Jennifer and Atem, who had now appeared beside his hikari in spirit form, shot the newcomer suspicious looks. 'I don't trust him Yugi.' Atem murmured through their mind link as Derus took a seat next to Ryou, the white haired teen edging quickly away from him. 'Oh Yami, stop overreacting! Derus is a nice guy and I want to make him feel like one of us!' Yugi replied.

"I don't know Yugi…" Jennifer whispered to the amethyst eyed teen. "I think I'm with Yami on this one. Something about Derus just seems…off…"

"How did you know what we were talking about?!" Yugi exclaimed quietly. "Can you hear us when we communicate through our mind link?"

"Ummm…yeah…did I not mention that yesterday?" Jennifer said, laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her head. As she spoke a tall brunette with a long floral nightgown strolled into the room, stopping dead as her blue eyes landed on Yugi and Jennifer. "Morning Tea!" the amethyst eyed teen said cheerfully, waving over to her.

The brunette just nodded quickly, a pink blush coating her cheeks as she practically ran over to the other side of the room. "Hey Yug, what's wrong with her?" Joey asked, momentarily ceasing his feeding frenzy to question his small friend. The spiky haired teen just shrugged but Jennifer answered quietly "I think I know…"

"What is it Jenny" Tristan asked, turning is his seat to face the other three.

"Well…" she was cut off by the sound of the T.V. coming to life. Everyone turned towards the devise, only to see an image of Kiaba's smirking face materializing on the screen.

"Good morning dweebs." He sneered, eyeing the pajama clad teenagers with a look of contempt.

There was a flash of light to Jennifer's right and she turned to see Atem was now sitting beside her, with Yugi floating transparently next to him. "What do you want Kiaba?" the spirit growled, glaring at the CEO.

Kiaba laughed, a cold emotionless thing, and turned his blue eyes on Atem. "I'm simply here to explain the rules of the tournament Yugi. I didn't want to waist valuable dueling time having to outline the rules on my island, so I'm having all of my advisors send video messages to each of my jets carrying duelists. You should be honored that yours is the only one I'm speaking to in person."

"Yeah Kiaba. I should be really honored that your hideous face has ruined my eye sight for the rest of the day!" Joey sneered, causing Jennifer, Tea, Tristan, Ryou, and Derus to snicker.

The brunette just raised an eye brow and said "Mutt, your visions always been faulty, no wonder you were never able to play the cards at the right time. Or maybe that was because of your stupidity."

"Why I outta..!" Joey shouted angrily, standing up, only to be pulled down by an exasperated Atem. "Calm down Joey, he's just trying to get you riled up. It's what he wants." The spirit whispered before turning back to the screen. "Explain these rules Kiaba!" he commanded.

Kiaba smirked before saying "My island is a technologically advanced area with hidden duel rinks, and open areas for duel disk competitions." As he spoke a mock up of the island appeared on the screen beside his head. "It is divided into four regions to represent the different hemispheres of the planet. Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest. The duelists from each region will compete with other duelists within their region in predetermined matches and the victors in each region will advance to the finals were they have a chance at facing me for the title of Duel Monsters Champion!" he laughed once more and suddenly turned his attention towards Jennifer. "You are Jennifer Thompson correct?" the CEO asked. The tanned girl nodded, eyes full of confusion at being addressed. "You were, and are, the raining Duel Monsters Champion of Egypt am I right?" "Yes…" she said, realization of what Kiaba was saying dawning upon her. "It would be an honor to have a champion of your standards compete in my tournament, after all, I only take the best." The CEO said, inclining his head slightly towards her.

Jennifer glanced at spirit Yugi and Atem who both nodded in unison before saying. "I accept Kiaba." "Good…" the CEO muttered. "You should be arriving in one or two more hours so…" he was cut off by Joey shouting "Why am I not allowed to compete in your tournament Kiaba?! I came in forth in Battle City!" the blonde cried, resisting Atem's words of warning and striding over to the screen.

"Because." The CEO sneered, giving Joey an amused smirk. "As I said before, I only take the best and that does not include second rate duelists who win through luck and the help of they're friends." Before Joey could reply, Kiaba laughed once more and the screen went blank.

"I'm gonna kill him!' the blonde shouted, punching the T.V. screen.

There was another flash of light and Yugi walked over to Joey side. "It's not worth it Joey. Don't worry about it." But the blonde just shook his head violently, pushing past the smaller teen and storming off down the hallway. Yugi sighed and Jennifer walked over to him, putting a reassuring hand on his back that caused a fresh wave of tears to form in the corners of Tea's eyes, unseen by the other occupants in the room. "He'll come around Yugi, don't worry." She said, giving him a bright smile and stretching. "If what Kiaba said about our arrival time is true, then I need to get ready." She laughed, slipping out down the hallway, quickly followed by, Tristan and Ryou.

Yugi turned around, intent on finishing his breakfast, only to see a teary eyed Tea, standing up slowly in the corner of the room. 'Tea, what's wrong!" the small teen cried, rushing over to her side as he heard the brunette let out a choked sob. "Nothing, nothing Yugi." She said quickly, dabbing her eyes with the sleeves of her gown and flashing him a shaky smile. "I'm going to go get ready too." She whispered, scurrying away from him. "Tea wait!" he called, but the blue eyed girl had already vanished down the hall.

"What's wrong with her?" Yugi asked sorrowfully, turning to look at the spirit form of his yami. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No Yugi, Tea just needs to be alone right now." Atem whispered back reassuringly, crimson eyes gazing out at the path the fleeing brunette had taken. The spirit sighed, turning to face his still shaken hikari. "We don't really have time to focus on that right now. What we need to do is prepare for Kiaba's tournament, and take measures to protect Jennifer and the Gem from harm."

"You're right." The amethyst eyed teen said sadly, looking up into the face of the long dead monarch. "We need to be ready for whatever circumstance our destinies might throw at us."

The spirit nodded, and the two headed back down the hall. But little did they know that a dark haired boy had stood, listening to there conversation in the shadows and now had a wicked smile spreading across his face. "Excellent." He murmured, dark eyes alight with excitement. "Excellent…"

* * *

YG- Well that was the chapter! Hope you like it! Next chapter is –dramatic drum role- CHILDRENS CARD GAMES! Yeah I know that sometimes they can be rather tedious but what would Yugioh be without Duel Monsters!

Yugi- Hey YG check it out! Bakura's having a fit!

YG-WHAT?!-runs after Yugi-

Bakura-twitching and jerking on the ground- STUPID VIDEO GAME CARACTER!

Yami-rolling around laughing like a mad man- Oh man I am so putting this on Youtube (no own)-pulls out a camera-

Yugi-falls to the ground laughing hysterically-

YG-He looks like a little baby!-laughs madly-

Bakura-SHUIT UP!-throws controller at YG who dodges it-

YG-Make me!-laughs and runs away from irate tomb robber-

Yami- Please hahaha review hahaha. You know haha how much haha she loves them! Oh god I can't stop laughing!-falls over again-

YG-Catch me if you can loser!

Bakura-I am going to stab you until your body mo longer resembles that of a human being!

(A/N: My little brother actually does that when he can't win a video game! It's hysterical! I swear one of these days I'm really going to put it on Youtube! XD I don't think I put enough of Atem in this chapter...oh well...Anyway, please review!)


	15. Chapter 15: Separation

A/N: /smacks head repeatedly with keyboard/ I'm such I bad author! /sobs hysterically/ I haven't updated in FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /smacks self in the head again/ Ouch! Anyway this chapter is nice and long to make up for all the time I lost! It's dedicated to all those who stuck with this story even though I never update! Thank you guys!

Disclaimer: Yugi- Hey Yami! Have you seen YG anywhere?

Yami- Yeah, she's been shut up in her room for the last eight hours writing this chapter.

YG- /staggers out of bedroom with bags under her eyes and five o'clock shadow (which is physically impossible for a girl to have but whatever/ I finished it! /passes out/

Yugi-YG!!!!

Bakura- /walks in and begins poking YG with a stick/

Yugi- Bakura stop that!

Bakura-But it's fun!!!!

Yami- Tomb robber if you continue to act like a child I will turn you into one!

Bakura- /sticks tongue out/ Come and get me big scary pharaoh! /runs away from Yami who has a glowing ball of shadow building up in his hand/

Yugi- /shakes the still unconscious YG/ Ummm…I don't know what to do now…Umm YG doesn't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh…and she is also not breathing…Umm guys…a little help here?

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 15: Separation

Tea buried her face in her pillow, the sunlight light streaming in through the window glistening in the silver tears that trailed down from her sapphire eyes. "Why do I keep doing this to myself?" she whispered to thin air. "I always fall for the ones I'll never get…" a soft knock on her door startled her out of her revelry. "C-Come in!" she hiccupped, quickly dabbing the tears in her eyes away with the bed sheets.

A black head poked through the crack between the door and the wall. "Hey Tea!" Derus said brightly, dark eyes bright and curiously empty as always. "I saw you crying at breakfast and I thought I might come and check up on you to see if you were okay."

"Thanks." She murmured, forcing a watery smile. "But I'm fine…you don't need to worry about me."

Derus smiled, scooting into the room and shutting the door softly behind him. "If you're fine then why are your eyes red and your cheeks wet?"

Tea touched her cheeks and felt moisture come away with her fingers. She blushed lightly and Derus chuckled striding over and sitting on the foot of her mattress. "Look Tea." He said soothingly. "I know I've only known you for a short while but…I want you to believe you can tell me anything." He flashed her a brilliant smile. "Anything."

The brunette gazed at the dark haired boy and felt herself smile slightly. She sensed no animosity from him…maybe she could tell him… "Well…" Tea muttered, ringing the sheets between his fingers nervously. "You see…the thing is…well…umm…"

"It's Yugi isn't it?" the dark haired boy interjected.

"What makes you say that?!" Tea cried, eyes bulging and heart pounding feverishly.

"Well…" Derus cast his black eyes to the ground meekly. "It's kinda obvious that you're in love with him."

Tea's face flushed crimson and Derus smiled softly at her. "He doesn't deserve you, you know…" he murmured after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Tea's face burned as she whispered. "What do you mean?"

"He is totally ignorant of your feelings and chooses Jennifer, someone he barely knows, over you, someone he's been friends since grade school!" he took her hand in his own. "You deserve someone better. Someone who will appreciate you for everything you do!" he brushed the tops of her hand with his lips. "Someone like me." He released her hand and stood, blushing slightly. "Think about it okay?"

"Derus I…" Tea whispered, but the teen was already disappearing through the doorway. The moment the door had swung closed behind him a wicked smirk broke his previously shy features. "Excellent…" he whispered. "Everything is going perfectly by the plan." He chuckled and strode back down the hallway, whistling a merry little tune.

* * *

"Please gather you belongings, we will be arriving shortly." The pilot called over the intercom. Yugi fastened his neck belt and took in his reflection before running a hand through his wild hair, throwing his bag over his shoulder, and striding out of the room.

In the sitting area, Joey and Tristan sat with their faces plastered to the windows, watching the scenery below flash by. Derus and Ryou sat side by side watching TV, Ryou looking very uncomfortable and glancing nervously at the boy beside him every five minutes. Tea sat in an arm chair away from the others, gazing dreamily off into space and stroking the top of her hand absentmindedly.

"Hey guys!" Yugi said cheerfully. "Hey Yugi." Joey and Tristan said in unison, neither removing their faces from the window. "Hello Yugi!" Ryou said, glad to have an excuse to scoot away from the dark haired boy on his right to make room for his short friend. Derus nodded at Yugi and Tea glanced up at him, blushed, and looked quickly down at her hands.

The amethyst eyed boy strode over and took a seat between Ryou and Derus. "Where's Jennifer?" he asked, glancing around and not noticing the slight rigidity of Tea's body as he said the girl's name.

"Right here!" a voice called from the front of the room. Yugi felt his jaw drop.

Standing in the door way was Jennifer, clad in tight black caprices and a form fitting white t-shirt that read "Paramore" across the chest. (A/N: /squee/ My favorite band!!!) . She wore black, fingerless gloves and a studded black belt hung loosely around her waist, her deck strapped into the holster on its side. She smiled her perfect little smile and took the empty seat next to Ryou.

"Please take your seats!" The pilot called "We are beginning our descent."

They landed about five minutes later, gliding smoothly onto the runways that stretch out along one side of Kiaba's gigantic island.

Yugi lifted his bag over his shoulder. 'Are you ready Yami?' he could feel the other's excitement bubbling through their link. Atem appeared beside his hikari in spirit form. He flashed him a translucent smile. 'Oh yeah.'

"Come on you guys!" Jennifer said, throwing an arm around Atem's ethereal shoulder and draping the other around Yugi's neck. "We got some dueling to do!" the three laughed and followed, Joey, Tristan, Tea, Ryou and Derus off the plane.

They walked out onto a platform packed with people all chatting, laughing and exchanging gossip. "Where are we supposed to go?" Tristan asked.

Just then a small boy with a wild mane of tangled black hair walked up to them. "Hey Yugi!" he said cheerfully.

"Mokuba!" Joey, Tristan, Tea, Ryou and Yugi all shouted in surprise. Jennifer shot Atem a quizzical look and the pharaoh whispered 'He's Kiaba's little brother.'

"Ahhh." Jennifer said in confirmation. "Thanks."

"You must be Jennifer and Derus. Nice to meet you!" Mokuba said brightly, holding out a hand which both teens shook.

"So what are you doing here?" Joey asked, ruffling the young Kiaba's hair.

"I' m here to take you guys to your regions." The black haired boy said. "Seto arranged special transportation for you."

"Well wasn't that nice of the heartless bastard." Joey grumbled under his breath and Tristan smacked him on the back of the head.

"Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristan, you guys are coming with me to region one. Derus and Bakura can follow my guard to the train leading to region three. And my other guard can take Jennifer to region four." Mokuba said, glancing down at the clipboard he held.

"What!" Joey cried. "You mean they don't get to stay with us?"

"No Joey." Yugi said, patting the blonde's shoulder. "Ryou and Derus are both from England and Jennifer's from Egypt. They're countries belong in different regions from ours."

"So you won't be coming with us?" Tea directed the question to all three of them but her eyes were glued on Derus.

"No, I'm sorry but that's the rules. If they duel well though, you'll get to see them in the finals." Mokuba said. "Follow me guys. And you two." he pointed at the burly guards beside him. "Show these three where to go."

"Bye Yugi." Jennifer whispered, squeezing him tightly and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Yugi's face glowed bright red, Joey whooped, and Tea went rigid once more.

"See you soon!" Ryou called and the three of them turned and followed the guards on their way. Identical smirks crossed Derus's and "Ryou's" faces and they whispered "Yes…sooner than you think…"

* * *

"Here you are!" Mokuba said proudly, throwing the car door open to reveal a towering city that looked remarkably like Manhattan. "You guys are staying in the hotel right across the street." He pointed towards a large, sleek looking building that stood not but a few yards away. "Check in with the woman at the counter."

"You're not coming with us?" Yugi asked.

"No, Seto needs me to make sure everything is set for the first round of matches. They start in about an hour. I'll try to come by and see you guys later though!"

"Bye Mokuba!" the four of them called, sliding out of the limousine that had taken them to their destination and waving at the small boy.

"Bye Guys!" he said before closing the door. The long black car sped away down the road.

"Come on!" Yugi said brightly, turning around and heading towards the hotel Mokuba had directed them to. The other three filed in behind their spiky haired friend as he pushed the door open. The lobby of the hotel was spacious and clean, full of modern artwork and black and white furniture. A secretary stood at a marble desk at the far end of the room, registering to short duelists who looked suspiciously like "Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood!" Joey cried.

A blue haired boy turned slowly around and gazed at the newcomers with contempt. "Why if it isn't Yugi and his little gang of cheerleaders!" Weevil sneered, adjusting his large yellow rimmed glasses and peering over at them. The boy beside him wore a red beanie over his wild brown hair and cast the four other teens a despairing glance.

"Hello Rex…Weevil…" Tea muttered, narrowing her eyes at the two's obvious rudeness.

"I didn't know you guys were staying at this hotel." Yugi said with a bright smile.

'Typical Yugi.' Tea thought with a soft sigh and half exasperated half loving smile. 'Always being nice to those who don't deserve it.'

"Yes…Kiaba only gives the rooms to the best after all." Weevil said with a smirk. "Now if you'll excuse us…we really should be getting to our rooms." Taking the key that the secretary handed to him, Rex said "See you guys on the dueling fields or…" he cast their group another glance. "I guess I should say I'll see _Yugi _on the dueling field." Snorting the two walked away.

"Why I outta…!" Joey cried, lunging after the two only to be restrained by Tristan. "Cool it Joe, they're not worth it!"

The blonde relaxed but continued to mutter under his breath "Stupid, slimy, no good, two faced, maggot riddled, midgets!"

"Hi I'm Yugi Motou." Yugi said brightly, striding over to the counter.

"Oh yes." The secretary said, typing away into her computer. "Mr. Kiaba sent special instructions for your rooms." She pressed enter and gazed at the information that filled the screen. "Yes…Yugi Motou…raining duel monsters champion, five feet tall, favorite card is the Dark Magician correct?"

"Yes…" Yugi muttered, blushing fiercely as she continued to rattle off more information about him.

"Alright." The secretary said, handing him four silver room keys. "You and your friends have the pent house suite on the top floor. Your bags have already been taken up and you should find a packet detailing your first scheduled match on your bed. Enjoy your stay and good luck with the tournament!"

"Thank you." Yugi murmured, taking the keys and heading towards the elevator.

* * *

"Oh. My. God." The three teens gasped as they took in the room before them. The key slipped out of Yugi's hand as he gazed, dumbfounded at the suite. The room took up the entire floor! It was practically a house within itself! A kitchen stood off from the entry way, every in it stainless steel or sleek marble. The entry also opened up into a spacious living room complete with jumbo flat screen TV, surround sound stereo system and expensive, contemporary furniture. The opposite wall from the front door was made completely of glass, a gigantic window that showed a magnificent view of Kiaba's replica New York City.

'Wow…' Atem whispered to his hikari.

Four doors stood, two on each wall, on opposite sides of the room, each bearing a piece of paper indicating who was to sleep in there.

Tea walked over to one and read "Annoying friendship girl! That jerk!"

"Muscle headed moron!" Tristan said indignantly.

"Pathetic little puppy!" Joey growled "I'm gonna kill Kiaba!"

Yugi gazed at the last unread sign. "The only person worthy of recognition." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Same old Kiaba." He called over his shoulder to his still fuming friends "I'm going to unpack!" before opening the door and sliding inside. The room was almost completely identical to the one he had stayed in on the jet, though it was larger, and had a floor to ceiling window on the far wall. He traipsed over to the closet and saw that his clothes had already been placed along the shelves. Removing his duel disk and letting its familiar weight settle gently onto his arm, he dropped his bag against the wall and strode off to the violet bed where a manila envelope lay propped up against a pillow. He plied the metal clasp that held it shut open, Atem peering curiously over his shoulder, and read the contents.

_Yugi Motou,_

_Congratulations for qualifying for Seto Kiaba's __Duel of the Worlds Tournament__. Your first match will be against __Rex Raptor__ on dueling __platform A-11 __at 1:45 pm__. Check the enclosed map for directions. If you are late then you will be disqualified and removed from the island. We wish you the best of luck._

_Kiaba C.O._

Yugi pulled the map out from envelope and searched for an area labeled A-11. His eyes landed upon the platform, which turned out to be located on the top of his hotel. "Dueling on a roof…" Yugi muttered, placing the map delicately back into the envelope. "…not like we haven't done that before huh Yami?" he and the spirit both laughed together. "I guess I should check to see when we need to head up there." Yugi muttered, glancing around the room for a clock. His eyes landed upon a digital one lying on his bed stand and as he read the little red numbers on its surface, Yugi felt his blood run cold.

'What?" Atem asked, noticing his hikari's distress. His eyes flicked to the clock which read…

"1:44!" Yugi screamed, dashing out of his room.

"Yugi what's wrong!" his three friends called.

"I'm going to be late for my duel!" he yelled, not bothering to turn around.

"Shit!" Joey cried, grabbing his coat off the couch where he had tossed it and dashing after Yugi's retreating form, quickly followed by Tristan and Tea.

Yugi sprinted down the hall like a mad man, pushing aside all those who stood in his way and shouting apologies over his shoulder. He grasped the handle to the door way that led to the roof and flung it open, taking the stairs two at a time, which was as much as his short legs would allow him. Stumbling out onto the rooftop, Yugi barely registered the small crowd gathered around the dueling platform. He ran to the moderator who stood in the center of the field, with a snickering Rex Raptor by his side.

"Finally decided to show up huh?" he sneered.

Yugi ignored him. "I'm…here…" he muttered between gasps. The moderator nodded. "Just in time to." Looking down at his watch he nodded and asked. "Do both of you understand the rules of this game?" the two nodded. "Take your starting positions!

Yugi stood on the left side of the playing field, Rex on the other. "Are you ready?" the dinosaur duelist smirked. Yugi just glared back at him. (A/N: Yugi glaring is about the cutest thing in the world! /fangirl squee/)

"Duel start!" the moderator cried, bringing his hand down like he was declaring the beginning of a race.

Just then Joey, Tristan and Tea came panting up the stairs, grasping stitches in their sides. "Go Yug!" Joey wheezed. Yugi and Atem smiled.

"I'll take the first turn!" Rex called from across the field. Yugi nodded.

"Alright!" the dinosaur duelist yelled, whipping a card from his hand and slamming it down on the duel disk. "I summon my Twin Headed King Rex in attack mode!" Lights blazed across the playing field as the gigantic hologram of a violet dinosaur emerged. Rex smirked deviously as the monster let loose a ferocious bellow that shook the ground. "And I'll place one card face down." A virtual card appeared, its back facing up towards the sky. "Try beating that!" he jeered.

Yugi gulped as he gazed into the monster's wide yellow eyes. 'That was a really powerful monster to play on the first turn.' He inwardly groaned to Atem. 'Just keep your cool.' The spirit whispered back soothingly. 'Remember, we've faced much harder creatures before.' 'Right.' Yugi replied with a smile, before returning his attention to the cards in his hand. "First!' he called to Rex who still wore his defiant smirk. "I'll discard on card from my hand to special summon The Tricky!" He swung his arm down and placed the card firmly upon his duel disk. Nothing happened.

"What the…?" Yugi muttered, looking down at the duel disk with a puzzled expression. The crowd around him began muttering fervently to themselves as his eyes raked over the mechanism. 'Yami, what's wrong with it?!' Yugi cried plaintively to the pharaoh. 'You know more about modern technology than I do!' was Atem's high pitched reply. Yugi shook the disk. The crowd laughed. Rex let loose a hearty chuckle.

"Well… if you can't get your equipment to work…then I automatically win this match!" he sneered gloatingly. "It's not the way I would have preferred to beat the King of Games but…a win is still a win!"

Yugi pawed at the disk frantically. 'I can't lose Yami! Not now! Not like this!' he mentally screamed.

'Well…there is a way…' the pharaoh replied quietly.

'What are you…oh no!' Yugi gasped as Atem sent him a mental image. 'We can't do that Yami! Remember what happened last time!' But it was no use arguing. Suddenly, Yugi felt himself being jerked from his body and into the confines of his mind as the spirit took over. 'No! No! Yami stop!' But the pharaoh wasn't listening. His pride clouded his judgment, he couldn't…no wouldn't lose…not when there was still a chance at victory!

"How about a shadow game?" Atem whispered in his deep, baritone voice and as he spoke black shadows began to swirl from the air around them and a glowing, golden eye flared to life upon his brow.

* * *

Derus smirked, black eyes alight with malicious glee. "Everything was going completely by the plan!" he cackled, settling comfortably back into the cushions of his bed. "Yes pharaoh…" he whispered, stroking the sides of the Millennium Rod lovingly. "Start the shadow game…so that the real fun may begin!' His insane laughter reverberated through the still room.

* * *

"What's going on?!" Rex cried, jumping away from the darkness that had begun to twist around his ankles.

'Yami stop!' Yugi yelled plaintively

'Yugi!' the pharaoh mentally cried. 'You can't honestly tell me that you want to loose this match!'

'No but…"

'Then don't argue!' his internal voice softened as he whispered soothingly. 'Don't worry. I won't force Rex into a penalty game if he looses. This is just the only way we can duel him without relying on the disk.'

'You promise you won't hurt him.' Yugi muttered meekly.

'Now Yugi do you really think I would ever hurt someone without just cause?' Atem asked.

Memories of Dartz and The Seal of Orichalcos flasted before Yugi's eyes, but he pushed them away before they could touch Atem's subconscience. 'No…I trust you…'

'Good.' The pharaoh replied before turning his attention back to the now completely shadow incased field. "Let's get on with the duel! I believe I had just summonded The Tricky!" as he spoke the shadows morphed into the form of a jesture-like figure wearing a long navy blue cape and bearing a bright red question mark upon his face and chest. "And next…"

"But how…" Rex intergected beedy eyes still whirling around the field. "Your dsk wasn't working…how are you summoning monsters?!"

"Because we're playing a shadow game and I don't need techknowledgy to summon my monsters! Now as I was saying…" he lifted a card from his hand and laid it down upon the duel disk. "…I also play Queen's Kinght in attack mode!" a women with long flowing lock of blonde, clad in red and white armor melted onto the field from the shadows, blue eyes alight with the fever of battle.

"And next…" Atem cried "…I'll use Monster Reborn to bring back the monster I just sent to graveyard inorder to summon the Tricky." The magic card appeared and the entire field shook as a gigantic creature emerged from it. "My Egyptian God Card…" Atem smirked at the dumbfounded expression upon Rex's face. "Slifer the Sky Dragon!" The magnificent crimson dragon dislodged itself from the magic card and rose into the blackened sky, bellowing fercely before curling portectively around the pharaoh's form, yellow eyes buring a hole into Rex's mind.

"And now my monster's!' the pharaoh bellowed to his arsenal "Attack!" Queen's Kinght sprinted forward, sword held high, followed by the floating Tricky and Slifer whose mouth was open, a sizzling white ball of enegy building in his maw.

"Not so fast!" Rex jeered. "I activate my magic card Earthquake!" the face down card before him flipped upwards and the entire playing field trembled. Queen's Knight staggered and fell to her knees, shield and sword crossed in front of her in a sign of defense. The tricky landed beside her and mimicked the Queen's action, folding his own arms in an 'x' across his chest."Now all your monsters are forced into defense mode!" Rex sneered.

"Not quite." Atem muttered pointing directly above them.

"What are you…?" the dinosaur duelist's voice trailed away as his eyes traveled upward and landed upon the gigantic floating form of Slifer whose mouth, now full of pulsating energy, was direct strait at his monster.

"I would think that ever _you _would know that magic cards have no effect on the Egyptian Gods! Slifer attack!" Atem cried. Slifer bellowed an a streak of blazing white hot energy shot from his maw, desentigrating Rex's dinosaur in a flash.

"My Twin Headed King Rex!' the brunette cried mourfully as his life points droped to three thousand five hundred.

"Unfortunately…" Atem said, shaking his head sadly "since I summoned him using a magic card he can only stay on the field for one turn. Goodbye Slifer." The dragon roared again before dissapearing into the shaodws. "Your move Rex."

* * *

Derus smiled at the scene playing within his minds eye. The pharaoh was doing well…though he was up against an incompetent fool…if he hadn't been doing well then he wouldn't even be worth going after. Just as he thought this a loud hammering knock on his door altered him the arrival of his expected visitor. "Come in…Bakura…" he called, sitting up slightly and turning so that he now faced the doorway. The white haired theif strode through the door, taking in the room with one sweep of his cold brown eyes before directing his atteniton to the dark haired teen. "He's in the shadow relm." He muttered, pulling the Millennium Ring from within the confines of his shirt. "Tell me what we need to do. Derus smiled.

* * *

"I won't be defeated that easily!" Rex muttered under his breath, reaching a shaking hand upwards to remove a card from the top of his deck. "I summon Sword Arm of Dragon!" he cried, throwing the card down on the duel disk. A red speckled, yellow dinosaur appeared on the field before him. "And I'll use him to destroy your Queen's Knight! Good bye your highness!" he grinned mischieviouly as the dino rushed forward and crushed the Knight with one giantic sweep of his spike encrusted tail.

"My Queen's Knight!' Yugi and Atem both cried in unison. The pharaoh's eyes narrowed and he hissed "You'll _pay_ for that one Raptor!"

"Whatever?" the brunette said sarcastically, rolling his beedy eyes. "I'll place three cards face down on the field and end my turn! Try getting around that Yugi!"

* * *

"Are you ready Bakura?" Derus asked. The theif rolled his brown eyes exasperatedly. "Yes, now hurry it up already!" "As you wish." Derus smirked. Taking the Rod in both his hands, Derus pressed it to Bakura's Ring and closed his eyes, muttering softly in a language lost to this age. Bakura shut his own eyes as well and felt power surge from his Ring. A swirling gail of light and shadow incircled them as the room began to fill with shadows.

* * *

'I'm going to destroy him!' Atem mentally growled.

'Don't be so quick to attack Yami!' Yugi said 'Remember, he still has though three cards face down. They could be traps. Don't be too reckless.'

'You're right Yugi I…' the pharaoh's voice faltered as he felt a sharp pang traveled through his chest. He clutched at the cotton of his shirt as white flashed before his eyes. And then the shooting pain was gone, just as quickly as it had come.

'Yami what's wrong?!' Yugi asked frantically, consern radiating through their link.

'Fine..' was the pharaoh's breathless reply before he returned his attention back to the field. Plucking a card from the top of his deck the spirit cried "I play the magic card Heavy Storm." A furocious wind picked up as Atem laid the card on the duel disk. The gail swept across to Rex's side of the field, obliterating the three cards he had left face down. "And I'm not done yet!" the pharaoh called as Rex cursed the loss of his traps. "Next I'll play Pot of Greed!" he drew two cards from the top of his deck. "And lastly!" he bellowed "I'll use Premature Burial! By sacrificing eight hundred of my life points, I can ressurect Slifer the Sky Dragon!" The gigantic dragon emerged once more from the graveyard and shook the field with his mamoth roar."Now I switch my other monter into attack mode! You have no where to run! The Tricky and Slifer attack! Take out Rex's dinosaur and the rest of his life points!"

The two monsters rushed forward, the Tricky blasted the Sword Arm of Dragon to rubble and Slifer's energy ball obliterated an life points Rex had left. The dinosaur duelist dropped to his knees, head sagging in defeat.

'You did it Yami!' Yugi cheered happily.

'No Yugi.' The pharaoh murmured 'We did it.'

Yugi blushed and the pharaoh smiled in triumpth. He stopped however as another white hot flame shot through his chest. Doubling over, the spirit cluthced the sides of his head as a skull shattering bolt shook him. It was pain as he had never experienced before. Every inch of his being seemed to be incased in fire. His very soul felt like it was being torn to shreads. He and Yugi both released echoing screams of anguish as the conciousnesses fought to remain contact.

'Yami!' Yugi screamed through the pain. 'Yami what's going on!'

The pharaoh tried to reply but felt the bond between their minds become strained 'Yugi!' he called, his mental voice bearly louder thatn a whisper. 'Yami!' the other's reply was a faint, mutted sound in the back of the spirit's mind

And then the connection snapped. Yugi fell backwards into his soul room, landing roughly on the soft carpet that blanketed the floor. 'Yami!' he cried, jumping up and sprinting to the door the seperated their soul rooms. He flung the door open and gasped, latching onto the knob to keep him self from falling into the swirling, black pit of abiss that stood where his Yami's soulroom had once been. 'No…' he whipered, gazing out into the shadows. 'No…YAMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

He closed his eyes and let his conciousness float back to his body. When he opened them the darkness of the shadow game had dissipated. Rex was gone and he lay on the ground of the dueling platform, surrounded by Joey, Tristan and a frantic Tea.

"Yugi!" she screamed as she saw his eyes flutter open. "Yugi you're safe! You're…what's wrong?" the look on his face was that of someone who had just witnessed death.

"Yug…" Joey muttered, "Yug…what happened?"

"Yami…" the small boy whispered, tears brimming in the corners of his amethyst eyes. "Yami's gone."

* * *

YG- What happened? /rubs head/ Is the story already over?

Yugi- You're awake!/hugs YG/

YG-/confused at first then smiles an hugs back/ Anyway, credit for the duel mentioned in this chapter goes to my new aibou rowana5255! Better known as Justin! Come on in here Justin!

Justin-/walks in to loud cheers and applause/ Where the heck did those come from?!

YG-/looking widly around/ I have now idea…Anyway, thanks to Justin here I didn't have to make up this duel! Give him hugs and go read his stories okay!

Bakura-/runs into the room followed by Yami/ Whose this idiot? /points at Justin/

YG-/growls/ This idiot is the reason I could actually publish this chapter! Have some respect!

Yami-Yeah tomb robber where the hell are your manners?!

Bakura- /cakcles/ Manners are for lesser mrotals like you, now if you'll excuse me…/picks up Wii controller/ I have some unfinished business to attend to!

Justin- Hey can I play!

Bakura-NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

YG- Bakura share!

Bakura-Never! /jumps away as YG swips at him with a pillow/

YG-Bakura!

Bakura- I'll never share! Nev…/falls to ground unconcious/

Justin- /standing behind him holding a baseball bat/ That was fun YG! No wonder you do it in almost every disclaimer!

YG-/smiles/ Now review!

Yugi-Yeah please review guys!

Yami-Review if you don't want to go to the shadow relm!

Justin- Review or-/looks down meaningfully at the bat/- I think you get the picture.

All- BYE!!!!!!!!!

A/N: Just a quick note. Some friends of mine are saying Jennifer is a Mary-Sue. Do you guys think so? Please let me know! Till next time! YG out.


	16. Chapter 16: The Hand of Darkness

A/N: I'M SO SORRY! /throws herself at the reader's feet/ I haven't updated in TWO MONTHS! TWO MONTHS! /smacks herself hard with a rolling pin/ I didn't mean to put off updating this long but thanks to circumstances I'd rather not get into right now, the update is REALLY late! I apologize again and dedicate this chapter to the people who are reading this even though I am the worst authoress in the world for updating so late! Please forgive me!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: Yugi: /fiddling with shoelaces/

Yami: /Laying over the edge of the couch staring up at the ceiling/

Bakura: /cursing out the Wii under his breath and gazing off into space/

Justin: /yawning and looking down at his watch/

YG: /bursts into the room looking like she's just run a marathon/ I…finished…it…/pants/

Yugi: Yeah YG is back! /hugs/

Justin: /smile/

Bakura: God it took you long enough! We've been sitting here for two months you lazy human!

Yami: Now tomb robber I'm sure YG has a perfectly good explanation for completely abandoning us after a dramatic cliffhanger! /glares at YG/

YG: Look guys I really am sorry but can we please save the arguments for later? The people want to read!

Yugi: Yeah give her a break!

YG: This is why I love you best! /hugs/

Yami: Favoritism! /looks indignant/

Justin: Umm…her name kind of gives away her character preference…

Yami: Yeah but still…/pouts/ it's not far!

Bakura: /rolls eyes/ Can you guys just shut up and get on with the fricken disclaimer already?! I'm tired of sitting here and doing nothing!

Justin: YG doesn't own any of the characters or ideas of Yugioh, just her OCs and the plot. Now for old times sake…/pulls out a baseball bat and smacks Bakura upside the head/ Now read!

Yugioh: The Return of Evil

Chapter 16: The Hand of Darkness

Darkness. It swirled around Atem. A blanket of shadows, suffocatingly black. He stretched his pale hand outwards, sweeping at the shadows as though the motion would drive them away. Nothing happened. Where was he? And why was it so dark? He rubbed the back of his head which throbbed painfully as he searched for any memories of what had landed him in this strange and dismal place.

In his minds eye he could see Rex Raptor's life points depleting down to zero and feel the triumph that had passed through his and Yugi's mind link. The next second he recalled a splitting pain wrench his gut as he and his light's consciousnesses were forcefully separated.

Atem shivered as he searched for the familiar presence of his hikari and found nothing. It was as if a hole had been gouged into the back of his mind, a gaping chasm where Yugi's light had once been held, always so comforting and gentle towards his inner darkness.

Atem felt wrong, exposed as if he were lying nude in this endless shadowy cloud. It was as if the Orichalcos ordeal was being repeated all over again, only this time it appeared _his_ soul had been taken instead of his light's.

Yugi was safe. At least Atem had that much to be thankful. What he feared now was what would become of him. With no more light to protect his dark soul would his inner demons awaken once more, as they had in the past?

He clutched at his chest where the Millennium Puzzle should have been settled and tried not to panic as he felt not but the fabric of his shirt. "Oh Yugi." His voice was so quiet and yet seemed to reverberate on through out the blackness. He pulled his knees towards his chest, as though drawing them inward would lessen the emptiness of his hikari's missing presence. "I'm so lost." He fought back the tears that threatened to spill out of his crimson eyes. Self pity would do him no good now, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. He knew he should be up, searching for a way out of this place, but now all he could do was cower in the absence of his light.

When had he become so dependent upon Yugi? A part of him knew he'd always be this way. Darkness and light balanced each other, made a whole. Atem needed Yugi's bright soul just as the smaller needed his own. Without each other - the former monarch's mind flew back to the disastrous fire that had engulfed his hikari's soul room and the sadistic state of mind he had taken on after losing Yugi's soul to Dartz - who knew what would happen?

* * *

"We got him!" Bakura looked triumphantly down at the Millennium Ring, whose brilliant glow was beginning to fade as it accepted the presence of another soul within its chambers.

"Yes…" Derus smiled, a gesture that would make most babies bawl. "Where are you keeping him?" His dark eyes were locked upon the item in Bakura's hand and his pale fingers twitched, as if eager to snatch the golden artifact away.

"My host's soul room." Bakura replied shortly, tucking the Ring safely within his shirt as he noticed the black haired boy's hungry gaze.

"What?! You locked him away with your light?!" Derus shouted, his eyes were wild with furry and an emotion that Bakura could discern all too well, fear.

"Yes. Your point?" Bakura drawled, covering his confusion behind his usual stony mask and loving the terror in the other's pupils.

"My point is that you just locked our prisoner in with one of the two people on this earth that could help him escape!" Derus roared, clawing frantically at his dark hair.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "My host is a pathetic weakling! What good could he do the pharaoh when he can't even free himself?!" The thief countered, jerking as he felt Ryou's presence stir curiously in the back of his mind and forcing the boy back with ease.

"Bakura you just don't get it!" Derus's voice was suddenly soft but resolute.

"Well then if you would oh so kindly explain." The white haired spirit's voice dripped with sarcasm.

(A/N: Some of the following events mentioned take place when Derus and Bakura are plotting "off-screen" for lack of a better word)

The black eyed boy sighed, flicking his hair back and starring at thief. "Remember how I told you that we needed the pharaoh's soul to help conquer the world?"

"Yes." Bakura bit out.

"Well… the reason we need his soul is for the power hidden within him. The powers of Darkness."

"In that case we didn't need the pharaoh at all! I can harness the powers of Shadow much better than that good for nothing monarch!" Bakura snapped, slightly offended.

"Bakura you miss understand me. I did not say 'Shadow' I said 'Darkness'." Derus stated blankly.

"And the difference would be…?" The white haired thief trailed away.

"Shadow magic," Derus began "is a force from a different dimension, the shadow realm as many call it. Though powerful and effective against the technologies of the era, shadow has many limitations. For one, you must be in an official duel, whether it be cards or swords or even physical wrestling, with an opponent who has a full scope of the penalties of failure. Second, even with the enhanced features the shadows give the one's who call upon them, the so called "Shadow Master" still has a chance at loosing the duel and therefore inflicting the punishment they intended for their victim upon themselves. And third is that, for all its prowess, Shadow magic is still not the most power force to be reckoned with."

He glanced up at Bakura who was taking in all the information with a blank expression on his face, leaning casually against the wall as if they were discussing yesterday's weather. "Do you remember the other day when I over powered you?"

Bakura nodded, nothing but indifference marking his features.

"Well, the magic I was using was the Dark powers within my soul. You see…" he stood and began pacing slightly. "…every human being is born with a certain amount of Light energy and Dark energy inside them. It depends on their personality. Those who are more malevolent hold much higher levels of darkness and those who are more, for lack of a better word, holy…" he made finger quotes around the word. "…contain bountiful amounts of Light. Most are either too caught up in the mundane to realize the existence of such power within themselves, and the ones who do recognize the difference are written off as freaks. However, there are a fair few in the world who have learned, whether consciously or not, to harness their inner Darkness or Light."

Derus raised a hand a tiny scale model of himself formed atop his palm, completely constructed of swirling shadowy darkness. He flicked his fingers once and the miniature vanished. "Unlike its fellow Shadow magic, darkness can be summoned at the will of the one whose soul it inhabits at _any _given time. It is because of his inner Darkness that Marik Ishtar managed to control the Millennium Rod, despite the fact that it was destined for Seto Kaiba who controlled its powers in the past. The same holds true for me." His pale fingers stroked the bulge in his trench coat were the hilt of the Rod was just barely visible.

"You and I." his dark eyes flicked over to Bakura. "House large amounts of Darkness within our souls. And the pharaoh…" he pointed towards the Millennium Ring his white haired companion was stroking unconsciously. "…contains equal if not greater levels. Together we can take what you've always wanted, power and control of the world!" Derus smiled once more, his black eyes alight with malice.

"How are we ever going to get the pharaoh to agree to this? He doesn't exactly fall for the powers of the Rod!" Bakura nodded towards Derus's item.

"He won't have a choice." The boy's voice was soft and eerie. "Without his hikari's light, he will be overwhelmed by a darkness he never learned to control. You and I both grew off our own evil intensions, but the pharaoh tried so hard to ignore the shadow within his soul. He completely depends upon his hikari to keep him "pure". He practically created a separate personality from the one he was born to be. Now that he doesn't have Yugi to keep the darkness under control…" Derus smiled "…the evil will consume him."

"And how could my host help him out of his imprisonment?" Bakura said skeptically.

"While you, Bakura, are a being with high amounts of Dark, Ryou is completely opposite. His soul contains high levels of Light, not nearly as powerful as the pharaoh's hikari, but still enough to help the pharaoh escape." Derus said. "Light magic is, by nature, twice as powerful as Dark magic. One match can illuminate and entire cave full of shadows. The same holds true for bearers of powerful Light magic."

"If my hikari's inner power is stronger than mine then how have I been able to control him for all these years?" Bakura spat with a raised eyebrow.

"Because your little hikari hasn't realized his full potential yet, neither has Yugi, but in the off chance that those two were to awaken there soul powers…" he nodded towards Bakura's item. "That's why we need him."

"Exactly how are we supposed to harness the pharaoh's Darkness if he has no physical substance?" Bakura asked. "I mean we'd have to find him a new host! Someone with a Millennium Item to house his spirit!"

Derus's dark eyes suddenly lit up with uncontrollable malice. "I know just who we need…."

* * *

"It's going to be okay Yugi." Tea watched in disgust and jealousy as Jennifer wrapped the small, shaking teen in her arms. "We'll find him. Don't worry." The brunette stroked Yugi's spiky head and it took all of Tea's self control not to run tearfully from the room.

"Yeah Yugi. We'll get the pharaoh back!" Ryou waltzed over to the teen's bedside and patted the sobbing boy lightly upon the shoulder. They'd called Ryou and Jennifer minutes after realizing the disappearance of Atem's soul. Derus had tagged along with them and nobody, strangely enough, protested against his presence.

And speak of the devil. At that moment Tea's blue eyes had collided with Derus's murky black depths. She couldn't help it. Her pallid completion flushed seventeen shades of crimson. The girl couldn't help but remember Derus's kind words on the plane…his offer…

_You deserve someone better. Someone who will appreciate you for everything you do!" he brushed the tops of her hand with his lips. "Someone like me."_

As the memory flooded through her mind, Tea unconsciously brushed her fingertips of the area of her hand Derus's lips had glanced so softly…

"Tea…could we talk to you for a minute?" said girl was brought out of her revelry as the object of her thoughts placed a light hand upon her shoulder.

"Oh…um…" blue eyes flicked over to the bed were Joey, Tristan and Jennifer sat clustered around Yugi and cooing warmly at the distraught boy. "Yes." She said resolutely, her eyes alight with cold fire as Jennifer kissed the top of Yugi's spiky head lovingly.

"Great." Derus took her hand and motioned for Ryou to follow them out the door.

The three took their seats in the middle of the spacious suite Kaiba had assigned Yugi to stay in during the tournament.

"What is it?" Tea questioned as soon as the other two had become comfortable. Ryou cast Derus a look and the dark haired boy sighed and spoke.

"We know who stole the pharaoh's soul." His voice was soft but full of unwavering conviction.

"Who?!" Tea gasped in shock.

"Jennifer." It was Ryou's soft voice that replied.

"J-Jennifer?" Tea stuttered, not really believing what she was hearing. Yes, she despised the girl for stealing Yugi's heart, but was the girl really capable of such a feat? "How do you know this?" she directed the question towards Ryou, however, it was Derus who answered.

"I overheard her talking to Yugi that night on the plane." Derus muttered, bowing his head and fiddling anxiously with his fingers. "She told him that that necklace she never parts with is a family relict, but Yugi deemed it a Millennium Item."

"You know about the Millennium Items?" Tea asked in confusion. Now that she started to think about it, Derus shouldn't know anything about what was going on! How did he even know of the pharaoh's existence?

"Yes, I've coupled together what my father was able to learn on his digs in Egypt with what Ryou has told me of the items and I believe I know how Jennifer was able to kidnap Yugi's darker half." The boy's dark eyes were alive with some kind of frantic vigor.

"How?" there was no skeptical retort. Somehow, Tea found it hard not to believe Derus's words, especially with the little benign smile he was flashing her.

"Well…" Ryou stuttered. "…during their duel, Yugi and Atem went into the shadow realm because their duel disk was broken. We believe that Jennifer tampered with their disk so that she could snatch Atem's soul away while it was vulnerable." Derus nodded towards Ryou in confirmation of the albino's words.

"But why would she…" Tea's voice trailed away.

"To have Yugi to herself obviously." Derus said firmly. "Didn't you see how she was clinging to him in there?! Imagine what she must have been thinking! She has to share her boyfriend with a spirit that inhabits his body and is constantly around to monitor them! Did you even see Yugi's reaction to the pharaoh's disappearance? He fell into Jennifer's arms in ten seconds flat!"

"But…I just can't see her hurting him like that for something so shallow…" Tea muttered, not looking at either boy as she tried to digest what she was hearing.

"Well…we're really hoping that winning Yugi's attention was her only aim in kidnapping the pharaoh." Ryou murmured. "In the case that she has more malevolent intentions…" he didn't finish his sentence, but Tea knew where his thought process was leading.

"We need to tell Yugi." She stated suddenly, standing up abruptly, only to have her progress halted as Derus's fingers wrapped around the crook of her arm.

"Do you really think he'll believe us?" the dark haired boy questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Tea thought about the loving way her best friend gazed at Jennifer, how much brighter he seemed to shine whenever she was around. "No…" the brunette shook her head dejectedly. "But what are we supposed to do?"

Ryou glanced at her, brown eyes full of concern. "We want you to help us take her down. We have a plan to help release the pharaoh, but we need your help."

"Will you help us?" Derus's voice was warm yet pleading as his fingers clutched imploringly to her arm.

Tea's blue eyes glanced between both the boys. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

The moment Tea disappeared back into Yugi's bedroom; Bakura dropped his Ryou façade and looked questioningly over at his companion. "We didn't need to convince her like that. You could have just put her under the influence of the Rod and saved us some time."

"I know…" Derus's voice was callous and his eyes held their usual malevolent gleam. "…but winning her this way just seemed so much more…satisfying…" the last word came out in an almost hiss as the teen flashed his sharp toothed smile.

* * *

"Hey Jen…can I talk to you?" said girl herd the whisper issue from behind her. Jennifer turned to see Tea standing in the open doorway, blue eyes peering down at her.

"Sure." The brunette muttered back. She lifted Yugi's head gently from her lap, the boy having drifted into a fitful sleep some time ago, and tip toed past Tristan's unconscious form which was lying against the bed skirt next to Joey's dangling feet, the blonde slumped against the wall where he had fallen asleep, sitting next to Yugi.

The two girls crossed into the kitchen, moonlight streaming into the suite through the window wall that ran cross the length of the space.

"What is it?" Jennifer asked, her voice seeming oddly loud in the stillness of the air.

"I can't believe you would do it." Tea whispered, blue eyes directed at the ground beneath her feet.

"Do what?" the tanned girl asked. "Tea, what are you talk-" Jennifer was cut off as a hand was slapped across her mouth, the other wrapped securely around her waist. Jennifer's kicked an struggled, glancing up at Tea with tear filled brown eyes when she noticed the other girl wasn't helping her.

"Sleep…" the attacker whispered, light flaring between his hand and Jennifer's mouth. With one last jerking kick, the girl went still.

Derus immerged from the darkness from which he had seized Jennifer, leaning the girl's now unconscious form against the kitchen table.

"We got her." Derus smiled, looking at Tea who was gazing at Jennifer with an unreadable expression.

"And now." The blue eyed girl gasped a two pale, muscular arms wrapped around her sides.

"Hello." A familiar voice hissed in her ear.

"Bakura!" Tea screeched.

She could almost see the twisted smile that the tomb robber now wore. "Long time no see." He laughed, nails digging into Tea's arms and causing tears to spring into her blue eyes.

"Derus! How could you?!" she rasped, fighting uselessly against the spirit's hold and gazing tearfully at the black haired boy. "You said you wanted to help Atem! You said…you said…"

"Guess what princess." Derus sneered, leaning in so that their faces were only inches apart. "I lied."

A hand was placed against the girl's forehead and her eyes flicked over to Jennifer, who lay sprawled out like broken doll. "I'm sorry." Tea whispered as a bright light flashed in front of her eyes and she drifted off into darkness.

* * *

YG: Well I hope this chapter made sense to you all! If not…well…just PM me for information! I hope you liked it!

Yugi: YG! Why would you do that to Tea?! /cries/

Bakura: /laughs/ She deserved it the annoying little /smacked upside the head by Justin/

Yami: What the heck is going to happen to me?!?!

Bakura: We're going to kill you pharaoh! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!! /smacked again/ STOP DOING THAT YOU INSOLENT MORTAL!!!!

Yami: No you're not! /looks imploringly at YG/ You wouldn't do that to me right?

YG: /grins/ Well you'll all just have to wait and find out!

Yugi: Review please! I want to know what's happing to all my friends!

Justin: REVIEW!

Bakura: Review you impertinent mortals so that I may wreak more havoc upon these miserable fools! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! /begins jumping around like child on a sugar high/ MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH ACK! /trips over Justin's outstretched foot/

YG: /raises an eyebrow/

Justin: I didn't do anything!!!! /looks nervous/

YG: Anyway…please review! I have a schedule where I update this story every other weekend so check in for a new chapter then! Bye!

Bakura: I'm going to kill you!!!! /chases after Justin with a pipe held over his head/

A/N: By the way…I was thinking about changing my penname… I still want to have the initials "YG" so if you have any ideas just send them my way! Thanks!


	17. AUTHOR'S NOTE :Apology

I'm sorry to say this, but this story has now been permanently discontinued. I was really looking forward to re-writing this, but recent events have caused me to reconsider my priorities. I found out yesterday that my grandfather has stage 4 lymphatic cancer. I want to spend my time with him, so I've decided to take a break from fanfiction. I'm so sorry to everyone who has stuck by this story and me through all the ups, downs and hiatuses. I just can't find it in myself to complete it when my mind is elsewhere and I can't put my heart into my writing. If anyone would like to adopt this story, PM me and I'll send you a plot outline to follow. (Not that you would really need to. If you wanted to finish the story you would have creative license to take it wherever you wanted). Once again, I apologize for everything, and I really hope you can forgive me for all the crappiness that has accompanied this fic. I'm not feeling quite eloquent at the moment forgive me if this seems insincere.

To nupinoop296, I finished your one-shot before I heard the news. I'll post it in a few days after my friend finishes the edits.

To all my readers, I bid you a fond farewell. It's been fun. I may be back soon. I may not. I don't really know. Thank you for sticking with me and do enjoy whatever other stories I've posted.

-YG


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